The Vessel
by j.sakurachan1
Summary: The Jenova project was finished, or was it. Shinra decided to try a new technique and gain Jenova's power, but he has no idea what he has unleashed. OOC WARNING! I don't own FFVIIAC but Kiyoko is mine...
1. First Impressions

First Impressions

I looked up at the dark sky, watching the rain fall around me. The tiny droplets of life fell against my face, and I closed my eyes, letting the water wash the dirt off my face. I let my tears flow with the rain, allowing myself to let all my pain and frustration pour out of my eyes. This was the only time I would cry, when the rain would hide me and protect me.

The rain drummed against the street, the cars, and buildings; a rhythm was beat that only those who stopped to listen could understand. I could hear that rhythm, though it was broken by the sound of cars splashing through the reservoirs that the downpour had created in the gutters. Back and forth, the cars drove, the sound of the engines growing and fading like a tide.

The street was not busy, and the cars came one or two at a time, so there were long pauses when only the rain could be heard, beating out its song to a world that no longer listened.

I opened my eyes as another car slipped by, the occupants hidden by tinted glass, and lowered my eyes. I knew my appearance was foreign to this city, and that I was probably being stared at; to make matters worse I was standing perfectly still and staring at a blank sky while being soaked to the bone. And with this realization, my body began shivering. _Good job Kiyoko, now you're hungry, tired, and wet. Just what you deserve for standing in the rain all night._ I berated myself for my foolishness.

I looked at my reflection in a nearby window. My shoulder length silver hair was plastered to my face, and my silver eyes stared back at me from a pale face. My long black coat was water-logged and my black leather vest and pants clung to my thin frame. My boots were also filled with water. All in all, I was a pretty pathetic sight at the moment.

Shivering, I looked around for a place to hide from the increasing downpour. I saw many possible locations, but the most inviting was a bar about seventy feet away. The lights shone through the rain and seemed to invite me to approach. I had nothing to lose at this point and, after checking the traffic or lack thereof, ran across the street and towards the glowing windows.

As I neared I could see that there were quite a few people inside. The dark sky was misleading, for it was only seven in the evening. The blurred windows allowed me to see outlines and colors, but not faces. _Well, here goes nothing. At least it looks warm in there. Let's see how long they let me hang in there before they kick me out from my lack of funds. _I thought ruefully. Taking a deep breath, I grasped the handle of the door and pulled, allowing the light and noise from inside to escape into the street.

I quickly slipped inside and shut the door with my back to the silence that fell from the inside. I could feel their eyes boring into my back, glaring at the disturbance I had created. I was once again self-conscious of my ragged appearance and the fact that I was soaked. I closed my eyes, and turned to face my audience.

There were four people seated at the bar, one woman behind the bar, a red dog-like creature laying off to the side, and a cat-like creature on the counter. I had no right to judge this group, but I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that they were an odd bunch.

The awkward silence seemed to stretch forever. I couldn't help but stare, for of the seated four, there was: a man wearing what looked like a black jumpsuit under a red cape with a golden claw-hand thing, a guy who looked like he was pulled out of some extreme sports competition, a girl wearing ridiculously tall yellow shoes and short shorts, and a guy wearing a mesh shirt under a beige jacket. At least the woman behind the bar looked normal, wearing a black vest over a white tank. I didn't even want to think about the other two creatures at the moment; I just wanted to sit and warm up before returning to the street.

Finally the woman behind the bar broke the silence, "Welcome to Seventh Heaven. You look like you could use a place to sit, so why don't you come over here where it's warmer. I'll get you something to drink, what would you like?" Her warm voice was inviting, and I couldn't help but feel some of the tension in my muscles relax. She motioned for me to come to the bar and take a seat near the girl with the yellow shoes. The girl in return nodded excitedly and jumped down from her seat.

"Umm, I'm sorry for coming in like this. I'll just sit over there," I pointed to the farthest table from the bar, "and I'm sorry but I won't be ordering anything. I just was looking for a place to wait out the storm." I started to inch away from the door toward the corner of the room. At the same moment though the girl in the shoes ran to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the bar.

"I'm Yuffie, and that's Cid-" Yuffie pointed toward the bar, indicating each person as she spoke.

"Yo!" said the extreme sports man.

"-Barret-" Yuffie continued, talking over Cid and Barret. The man in mesh called out, waving a mechanical arm.

"-Vincent-" Mr. Red Cape nodded slightly, his red eyes coldly staring at me from under a black fringe.

"-Tifa-" The woman behind the bar smiled.

"And that over there is Red XIII," Yuffie motioned to the red dog, "And the cat is Cait Sith." Yuffie finished excitedly. I felt myself being dragged to the bar by the hyperactive girl. After stumbling and almost falling onto the stool provided, I sat to catch my breath. I felt like a cornered animal, and felt all the tension that was recently released building once more.

The awkward silence returned, and after a good twenty seconds of sitting there biting my lip, I realized that the introduced occupants were waiting for me to return the favor. "Oh, um, you can call me…I mean…my name is Kiyoko." I finished hurriedly. I wanted nothing more than to run from the spot. I would rather face the rain than this strange crowd. The cat-Cait Sith- walked towards me, on two feet to my surprise, and bluntly asked in a thick accent, "Ya don't look too good, little miss. Ya sure ya don't need a drink?" I shied away from the strange creature, surprised at the fact that it could talk and that it was wearing a little crown.

"It's okay, Kiyoko. He won't bite." Tifa's voice rang from behind the bar. "Here," she placed a cup of black tea before me, "It's on the house. From your appearance I'm guessing you're going through a rough time." She smiled at me; her kindness seemed to have no limits. I thanked her in a quiet voice, overwhelmed by my present situation, and gratefully wrapped my hands around the warm mug.

"So, where ya from?" Barret's voice was ridiculously loud compared to Tifa's and I jumped at the sound. I also happened to be trying to drink some tea at the moment and the result was me spilling the hot liquid onto my already ruined clothes and my face turning a bright red. I did the only thing left to do: I put the cup down, slowly stood, and, taking a deep breath, lost my temper.

"Why the hell do you want to know! Why can't you just let me drink my tea, which now is all over me, and leave in peace? I'm not some stray that you can pick up and begin to pamper! Just leave me alone!" With this last outburst I thanked Tifa for the tea in a strained voice and turned to leave; only to find a very handsome blond in black clothing barring my way.

I hadn't even noticed him entering, and to add to my shame I didn't know how long he had been standing there. I felt like I could just die right there and then. I stared him in the face, not having much left to do, and was caught in his eyes. They were filled with Mako, which was unfortunate for me. Pain exploded from within me as _she_ awoke.

I curled over in pain, holding my head as I fell to my knees. I could hear the voices of the others calling out to me, and I could see the blond kneel down and reach out to me, but that only made the pain worse as I fought to keep control over the seal. I felt my eyes roll up into my head as my consciousness slipped. This was just not my day.


	2. A Short Temper

A Short Temper

My eyes opened slightly, letting the light from reality chase away the darkness that was my nightmare. I could feel my heart beating beneath my hand, and the feel of my chest rise and fall as I regained consciousness.

My vision cleared, and with a start I realized that I had no idea where I was. _Okay, I was in a bar, there were some freaks, and then the blonde showed up. That's unbelievably unhelpful, I mean I was totally out. How the hell am I supposed to know what happened next? They could have taken me back, for all I know._ With this grim thought, I forced my aching body to rise into a sitting position.

The first sign that I had that I had not been returned to **that** place was the fact that I wasn't wearing my black clothes anymore, but a long-sleeve white tee and a pair of blue shorts. Definitely not Shinra status. Sighing with relief, I turned to tackle the next problem: where in the hell was I?

I swung my bare feet over the edge of the short bed and stood, swaying unsteadily. My stomach lurched, a side effect of the mental war I just waged, and I stumbled away from the bed to a connected room, which I prayed was the bathroom.

My luck was with me, and I fell to my knees and lost what little food I had eaten recently into the toilet. After dry-retching for a few minutes, I felt ready to stand. Using the counter as a balance, I maneuvered onto my feet, which luckily held, and looked at my reflection in the mirror.

My usually pale face was now a deathly gray, and my eyes and lips were shadowed. My hair was similar to that of a porcupine, sticking out at odd angles. I noticed the towel hanging from the bar behind me and decided that I had already invaded this place and would take what I could. I pulled back the curtains from the shower, and studied the faucets. They were simple enough, and soon steam was rising from the water. I pulled off the shirt and shorts, and grimaced at the sight of all the scars that the tests at Shinra had left behind.

I pushed the memories away, not wanting to delve into that bag or worms at the present moment. Shinra had a lot to answer for, but not now. A shower came first, and then the search for answers. I let the hot water run over my body, loosening tight muscles and washing away the grime from days without rest. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander, not thinking about anything in particular, simply thinking.

The minutes passed quickly, and soon I felt rejuvenated enough to dry off and look for more suitable clothing. I wrapped the fluffy cotton towel around my slight frame and peeked out of the bathroom. On a chair near the bed my clothes were folded neatly, having been washed by whomever my caretakers happened to be. At this point I had a guess as to where I was and who had been watching over me, and a look out the small window confirmed my guess; I was still at the bar, or at least a room above the bar, and the owner of the bar had been keeping an eye on me.

_Tifa, I think that's what the others called her…well at least I know where I am now._ I began pulling on the black pants and shirt, noticing that my personal belongings were mostly there. A cell phone lay beside a small bag, which held some mementos. There was something missing, something very important to me. I searched around the room, guessing it had fallen somewhere, but it was not in the room. At this point I was dressed and ready to face the blonde and Tifa. What I was not ready for was the small girl that opened the door.

I spun toward her, sliver eyes blazing with anger. She was so small, and dropped the tray of food she was holding and backed away, turning for the stairs. Her brown hair was tied in a braid, and her dress was white. Sighing, I walked toward the fallen food, picking up an apple that had rolled off the tray. _Well that went well. _I thought dully to myself. Wiping off the small fruit, I left the small room in search of the small girl to make amends.

I found the stairs that led to the bar downstairs and assumed that she had fled there. I carefully descended, my legs still being slightly unsteady. My feet, still bare, tensed at the coolness of the wooden steps, but the reality of it was a comfort. I reached the final step and turned to face the occupants of the bar, who happened to be Tifa, a young boy, the terrified girl, and the blonde.

I stood there, unsure of what to do or say, but finally worked up the courage to approach the four. Tifa smiled at me, "Are you feeling better Kiyoko? Sorry of Cloud here gave you a fright last night, he's harmless. This here is Denzel," she indicated the small boy with light brown hair, "and the fuzzy maraca behind me is Marlene." Tifa finished with a chuckle as Marlene's trembling increased.

I knelt down, becoming eye level with Marlene, and smiled, "I'm sorry for scaring you, Marlene. I hope we can be friends." I finished, reaching out my hand to the little girl. Her gaze lingered on my face, then drifted to my outstretched hand, and back to my face. She squirmed under the pressure, but finally decided that I wasn't going to bite, and shook my hand.

I stood to face Tifa and Cloud, ready to ask politely where the rest of my belongings were. But before I could speak, Cloud stood from where he had been seated at the bar. "Denzel, why don't you take Marlene to the store to pick up some candy? Take this and go get something good to eat." Marlene and Denzel both cheered, oblivious to Cloud's true intentions of merely getting them out of the bar so the adults could talk.

Denzel grabbed the cash from Cloud, took Marlene's outstretched hand, and the two ran from the bar. Tifa, Cloud, and I watched in silence as the two children left, each not knowing how to begin. I moved to a stool and sat, waiting for the other two to say something, anything. Cloud resumed his seat three down from where I was, and Tifa leaned against Cloud. The silence dragged on, none of us moving. I finally had enough.

"Where is it?" I demanded.

"If you want your weapons back, you'll have to wait. Those are put away until we decide what to do with you. You need to tell us more about what happened last night before we let you walk around, armed. And more about where you came from and who's coming after you. So start talking-" I sat patiently though Cloud's lecture, and waited till he ran out of words to say before finally saying, patiently as if to a child, "You know that's not what I want. Where is the necklace?"

Tifa jumped at the question, and Cloud lowered his eyes. Neither wanted to answer, but I really didn't give a damn. It was mine and I wanted it back, now. My fists curled, ready to fight for the object in question if I had to. "Why do you want it so badly?" Cloud toned. "I mean, it's just a necklace." As he began to close his mouth, he realized that he had just made a deadly mistake.

I leapt from my stool and, after sending Tifa flying, lifted Cloud from his seat, my hand around his throat. "I will ask once more. Where is my necklace?" I heard Tifa stir from where she had crashed through a table and hit the ground. Cloud used the distraction to close his own fist around my wrist, hoping to deter me. All he gained was a punch to the face which sent him crashing into the now standing Tifa. The two had just discovered how short my temper could be.

Cloud leapt to his feet, ready to counterattack, but was stopped by Tifa. "Alright, we'll give the necklace back on one condition: you tell us everything." We stood, eyes locked, having a wonderful battle of wills as Cloud waited for the worst. I sat down, sighing. "Very well, but you give me the necklace first." Tifa relaxed, and nodded to Cloud. He walked over to the bar and reached over into the register. He pressed a button and then deftly grabbed the glowing pendant from the drawer, closing it as well.

He looked ready to second guess Tifa's agreement, but thought better of it and tossed the necklace towards me. I caught the pendant and quickly latched the lobster clasp around my neck, the slender silver chain resuming its place around my shirt collar and draping the pendant over my chest. I sighed with relief. I had never felt complete without it.

I realized that Tifa and Cloud were waiting for me to begin my story. "You better get comfortable. This will take a while." Tifa poured me a glass of water and one for Cloud, and then sat on the stool behind Cloud. Once we were all settled, I closed my eyes, finding a good place to begin.

"I suppose I should answer the obvious question: the necklace comes from a man called Kadaj. The man who is helping me stop Shinra from making it's biggest mistake yet; the mistake of bringing back Jenova, and Sephiroth, in hopes of using their powers to recreate the world. It all started…"


	3. Prepare to Fight

Prepare To Fight

"It all started three years ago, around the time the prodigious Sephii" Cloud choked on the water he had just drunk, receiving a glare from me, "went insane and wiped your town off the map. While Jenova herself was being held in the facility, there was a small village in the nearby hills that was Shinra's test site. It was there he held his most extensive research. The projects developed there were to clone Sephiroth, which produced Kadaj and his brothers, and the project to clone Jenova. The Sephiroth project was partially successful, and after Sephii went nuts, the three brothers were subject to even more testing. The Jenova project was also partially successful.

"Four months ago, Kadaj and I planned the escape for the four of us, and hoped that if we ran far enough Shinra would stop looking for us and give up on his projects. Before we could escape, though, the Sephiroth project was completed. There is now a clone of Sephiroth being held by Shinra. Every day that clone grows more and more savage, trying to escape from the confines placed upon him.

"Anyways, the reason the original escape failed and Sephiroth was awakened is because the testing on Kadaj was successful. Kadaj carried the thoughts and the will of Sephii, and when the two entities were finally split, Sephii was removed and Kadaj left to die. I tried to free Kadaj, as well as Yazoo and Loz, but I couldn't and Kadaj made me promise to leave him and run. I have no idea what happened at Shinra after that, to Kadaj or the others; I don't even know if they're still alive. Shinra can't be allowed to finish the Jenova project. If he does, the world is over." I finished with a sigh, my voice dry from talking for so long. As I drank the water Tifa had given me, I heard Cloud speak out.

"I can see why that necklace is so important to you now, but what I don't get is why Shinra can't complete the project, and why Kadaj wanted you to get away."

"He wanted me to escape because I am the key to awakening Jenova. Just as Kadaj carried Sephii, I carry Jenova." I stood and walked toward the window at the entrance of the bar. I stared up at the bright sun, taking in the beauty of the life outside, and the devastation Jenova had caused when she had last been free. "I can't let her out, I can't let her win. It was his last wish that I run, and that's what I'll keep doing for as long as I live."

"So Shinra needs you to finish the Jenova project. The only question I have left is why you passed out last night. Tifa said you looked exhausted, but from what you just said, I don't think it's in you to just pass out when you're tired." Cloud moved toward me as he asked his question, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"You're right, I don't customarily faint at the sight of a pretty face. What happened last night was Jenova sensing the Mako within you and fighting against the seal placed upon her. The seal was fashioned by Kadaj and me to prevent Jenova's total awakening. Trust me, I was caught off guard, nothing more." I turned to face him with a smirk. Tifa had remained silent the whole time, debating whether to ask the question that had been nagging at her all morning. She opened her mouth, and hesistantly asked, "Was it Shinra, all the scars? I mean, when I had to get your wet clothes off to clean them, I saw…"

"That is a result from all the tests and experiments. Usually I would prefer them to stay hidden, but in this case the damage is done, I suppose." I gave her a reassuring smile, trying to let her know that I was fine, despite the condition of my physical form. She nodded, temporarily satisfied with the answer.

Silence fell, and we returned to our seats at the bar. Tifa finally stood and went around to the other side and began cleaning glasses and mugs, preparing for the night crowd that would come in later. Not a sound came except from the occasional chink as Tifa placed a glass on the counter to pick up the next. After what felt like ages, the door was slammed open to reveal Denzel and Marlene, back from their adventure through town.

They were smiling and laughing, oblivious to the tension inside. Their innocence and joy broke Cloud, Tifa, and me out of our stoic reverie and we all smiled at one another. Marlene had yet to fully trust me, but at least her eyes remained filled with excitement though her smile faltered toward me. The two children ran to the bar and started pulling on Cloud's arms, trying all at once to tell him everything that had happened. I couldn't help but feel my throat choke with emotion.

That such pure innocence and joy could exist even in these dark times proved that hope was never lost. I was lost in my thoughts, ready to float along happy memories, when the sound of motorcycles reached the bar. Cloud stood, reaching for the core blade which had been sitting on the bar during our conversation. Denzel and Marlene turned to the door, and the five of us stood, waiting for the strangers outside to make their move.

"Kiyoko, come back here so they can't see you. If its anyone from Shinra, then the last thing you need is to be caught. Denzel, take Marlene upstairs and stay there until either Cloud or I call you back down." Tifa's usually calm voice had taken an edge that surprised me; she had given her orders and expected them to be followed. I didn't waste any more thime, though, and quickly slid across the bar and crouched down, anxiously watching Tifa's face for any hint as to who might be entering the bar.

The door opened, and Tifa tensed. I got ready to run if the time came, but Tifa motioned for me to relax. "Welcome to Seventh Heaven. What can I get for you?"

"I'm looking for Strife Delivery Service. I heard I could find it here." A strange male voice carried across the bar. I relaxed; the man was just a customer. I heard Cloud move, replying, "I'm Cloud Strife, the Delivery Man. What can I help you with?" And so the conversation progressed. Cloud and the man quickly finished their discussion, and after negotiating a price, the man left the package and paid Cloud. I waited for the door to close and Tifa to help me up before releasing all my tension.

During the conversation Cloud had put down the core blade on the counter, and beside it now lay a small box, the above mentioned package. He picked it up, "I'll go take care of this. I'll be back in an hour or so. We can finish planning what to do then. Wait for me here, Kiyoko." I glared at him; unfortunately my look went unnoticed as Cloud had turned and was leaving the bar. I sighed with frustration. Tifa laughed, and I couldn't help but smile. She turned toward the stairs and called for Denzel and Marlene. The two children came slowly down the stairs. After scanning the bar, Marlene asked, "Where's Cloud?"

"He had some business to take care of. He'll be back soon." Tifa explained, leaning down to look into Marlene's face with a smile. Marlene simply pouted and went to the empty space where Cloud had recently vacated. I noticed a shaft hidden under the bar, and pulled it out. It was my naginata. The weapon was condensed at the moment to make it easier to conceal and travel with, but fully assembled, the shaft measured four feet and the blade another sixteen inches. The black shaft was made of the same material as the core blade and unbreakable. The base of the shaft was capped in hardened steel for jabbing and hitting motions. The blade itself was made with Materia, and when activated could take on properties that were unique. It was created specifically for my hand, and with it I planned to stop Shinra.

Tifa noticed my focus on the weapon and for a moment her face was a mask of apathy. I could tell she didn't agree with my resolve to do whatever it took to stop Shinra. She didn't believe my story fully either. We said nothing; I stood and carried my weapon upstairs to where I could see the street through the window. _You may have ordered me to stay, but you can't order me to stop._ I thought, becoming angry once more with Cloud's attitude. I knew he was right, though. I would need help if I was to succeed, and he and his motley group were my best bet. Memories flashed through my mind, memories of Kadaj and his brothers, of a time when I was happy and content with life; memories of a life long gone.

I wanted to stay in the memories forever, and leave this torture behind, but I noticed movement across the street from the bar. Someone was watching the bar. I grimaced; Shinra had been expecting this move, but I had no idea how long that guard had been there. _Sorry Cloud, but I'm gonna have to disobey your order. It's time for me to go._ I tightened my grip on my naginata. I was about to turn from the window when I saw four more dark shapes in the area; the bar was surrounded. This was a bad sign for me, firstly because escape was going to be extremely difficult and secondly this many watchers meant that Shinra was confident that I was here.

To top matters off, more men started approaching the bar, preparing an all out frontal assault. On a regular basis I would already be leaving, but there was one drawback to the present situation: Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene were downstairs, and had no idea what was about to happen. I swore, and ran to the staircase. Taking the steps by threes, I burst from the stairwell and made the three occupants jump with surprise. "Tifa, take the kids upstairs. This is about to get bloody, and I don't want them in my way." Tifa stood, confused. She didn't like the sound of the plan, but my voice carried a tone that was not to be ignored. She grabbed Marlene and motioned for Denzel to follow her upstairs. I could hear her feet coming back down the stairs; she wasn't going to let anything happen to the kids, or her bar, without putting up a fight first.

I released the latch on my naginata and the shaft lengthened and the blade slid out. Tifa grabbed gloves from her belt and pulled them on, tightening them to ensure complete effectiveness. We were as ready as we would ever be, just in time for the first wave of TURKS to break down the door and rush into the bar.


	4. A Good Warmup

A Good Warm Up

The TURKS ran into the bar, nightsticks bared, and proceeded to relocate any tables and chairs that stood between the TURKs and their target. I heard Tifa swear, obviously pissed that the men had done such a thing. I didn't move from my spot before the bar, content to wait for the men to attack first. Tifa had other plans, though, and ran forward; she was soon in combat with three TURKs. I sighed, realizing that this was going to be harder for me because now Tifa would be in the path of any Materia attacks that my naginata could use. One TURK finally managed to reach my position. He tried to close the gap between us, but found out the hard way just how long my naginata was.

He fell, holding his now bleeding arm. Another TURK leapt over his fallen comrade, shouting angrily. I swung upwards with Naginata, catching the man in midair, digging the long blade into his abdomen. Crouching, I completed the swing over my head and sent the man flying across the bar. I spun once more, using the continued momentum to parry the nightstick that was coming down towards my head.

I shortened the shaft of Naginata and pushed against the nightstick, trying to overpower the TURK. He had the upper hand at the moment, but dropping one hand to the ground to support my weight, a quick kick to the groin changed the balance of power. As he fell forward in pain, I brought my outstretched leg up, ramming my knee into his jaw. I slid away from the spot where the unconscious TURK fell, and quickly rolled to the side as another nightstick flew down.

As I rolled, I took into account how the fight was progressing. Tifa was holding her own, holding off two of her three original assailants; four TURKs were now incapacitated in one way or another. I stopped rolling and stood, waiting for my next opponent. I was now in front of the stairs, but still did not have enough room to extend Naginata or use Materia attacks. Two TURKs came at me from the front, believing a coordinated attack would be more effective against me. Had I been able to fight at my full strength, this wouldn't have been a problem, but since I was confined to the short staved Naginata and no Materia, I had little choice but to defend against the two nightsticks.

I felt myself being pushed back toward the stairs. I started walking backwards up the stairs, planning how to make my move; my options were to try to use the higher ground and pull on the offensive or find the nearest exit upstairs: the window. I quickly weighed the two options, sacrificing total concentration on the fight and earning a few bruises for it, and decided that the latter option had a higher success rate.

I faked an attack toward the TURKs, forcing them to stop their barrage, and spinning, ran up the stairs by threes. I heard the TURKs shout behind me, and then footsteps. Denzel tried to peek out of his door as I ran toward the guest room, but received a shove from me as I yelled for him to stay inside. I couldn't tell if he had listened and kept running. The door to the guest room loomed before me. I slowed my pace to open the door; but once through I ran to the window and, taking a deep breath, jumped into the glass.

One moment I felt resistance from the window, the next I was through and falling amongst hundreds of shards. I felt blood run from dozens of superficial cuts on my arms and scalp. I heard the TURKs chasing me shout to their comrades in the street. I quickly oriented myself in the air and gracefully landed, Naginata extending behind me. Taking full advantage of the shocked TURKs I dramatically raised my silver eyes and smirked. Now I had full room to use Naginata, as well as Materia.

Before the TURKs could react to my arrival, I moved. I remained low to the ground, Naginata trailing behind me as I ran toward the armed contingency. I counted quickly; nine TURKs stood before me. Their faces displayed similar shock, shock that turned to a trained calm as they regained their composure and readied their defenses. But now that I had been loosened from the restraints I had fought with earlier, the men stood no chance against me.

The first TURK I reached tried to hold his nightstick before him in a defensive position, but realized too late that I had no intention of attacking from the front. Naginata's trailing blade swung in from the side, catching the man in the leg. He fell with a cry, but I had already moved on to my next victim.

This TURK was more experienced and watched my body for any hint at where Naginata would strike from, so I took advantage of his focus to reach out toward him with my free arm and blast him with a Materia attack. His calm face contorted with pain as he was lifted off his feet and thrown backwards. I moved on.

TURKs three and four were relatively close together and I slipped between the man and woman. The man was unfortunate enough to feel Naginata's blade slip between his ribs on his right side, while the woman consequently felt the capped end of Naginata ram her in the chest. The man fell first, bleeding, and the woman curled over gasping.

The four fallen TURKs turned out to be the least prepared of my opponents, for the last five had moved apart and away from me. And they were now holding firearms. The real fight was about to begin.

I stood, analyzing my situation. The easiest solution would be to blast the remaining TURKs with Materia and proceed inside to check on Tifa, but I wanted to send Shinra a message; I wanted him to fear me. I smirked at the standing TURKs, and saw them raise their guns. Time slowed, and I heard hammers fall and bullets enter chambers; I heard gunshots, and saw small flashes as each bullet left the gun and sped toward me. I raised Naginata vertically before me, capped end on the ground and blade reaching to the clouds above.

The blade began to glow as I fed Materia into it. Not even a second had passed, but to me it felt like minutes. My eyes closed, and I turned Naginata in a full circle before me, letting the capped end return to its place on the ground once more. I opened my eyes, now glowing a Mako blue, and before me was a round shield made of Materia, one of Naginata's tricks. The bullets hit the shield and shattered. The TURKs continued to fire, and for me time resumed its normal passage. Each TURK emptied their guns, and moving to reload them, opened their defenses. I took my opportunity to attack.

Using more Materia, I seemed to disappear from the spot and appear next to the TURK in the center of the five. This trick I had learned from Loz, and was glad I did. Naginata had shortened again, and I switched the weapon to my left hand, stabbing the TURK in the back. Using the Materia jump again, I moved from the spot and attacked the TURK at the far left of the group. The woman jumped as she felt me appear on her right, and turning her head fearfully toward me, opened her mouth to yell.

I didn't give her the chance, though, and brought the cap down on her skull. I jumped again, this time to the TURK on the far side of where I now stood. His blood spilled on Naginata's glowing blade, a deep gash now bleeding profusely from his chest. The two remaining TURKs turned toward me, and having finally reloaded their guns, opened fire. They soon discovered the difficulty of shooting at a target that seemed to disappear and then reappear twenty feet from the spot.

I attacked the TURK who stood on the left of the fallen center TURK. He was almost able to block Naginata with his gun, and only took a shallow cut to the arm. He staggered back, dropping his gun from the useless hand. Grabbing his nightstick with his left arm, he raised it to attack. I struck out with Naginata, aiming for his shoulder, but was cut short by a gunshot from my right. My attack was shortened, and the Naginata merely pierced the man's shoulder but did not continue all the way through his body. I jerked on Naginata, ready to pull back to attack the last TURK, but the blade wouldn't come.

The man had raised his right arm and, after dropping the nightstick, grabbed the shaft. He refused to let go, giving the gunman another shot. I released Naginata and jumped away, just as a bullet passed before my face. I was running low on Materia and couldn't use the Materia jump anymore, or any other Materia attacks for that matter. I was now standing in the middle of the street, the door to the bar on my right and the TURKs in front of me. The injured one fell to one knee and pulled Naginata from his body, but didn't release Naginata. I was weaponless, and I hated getting my hands dirty.

Before I could make a move, though, a shout came from inside the bar. I recognized the voice as Tifa's. Soon, I saw movement from the dark interior; Tifa was being forced outside in the custody of the two TURKs she had been fighting, and behind her Denzel and Marlene each had an escort; they were the TURKs I had left standing at the window. Tifa had obviously been forced into submission through threats against the kids.

Tifa looked at the scene before her, the seven TURKs on the ground either unconscious or dead, with shock and disbelief. Her wide eyes stopped on me, but before she could say anything, she was pulled to a stop and forced to her knees. One of her guard grabbed a gun from the ground; it had been slid over by the injured TURK who held Naginata before him. He held the loaded weapon to Tifa's head, daring me to move. I relaxed my position, waiting for the TURKs to make the next move.


	5. A Real Fight

A Real Fight

The TURK holding Naginata stood slowly, regaining his balance and posture. He tightened his grip on Naginata, unsure of what the weapon might do when separated from its master; but like any relatively normal weapon it did nothing but wait to be used. Silence pressed down on the street, broken only by Marlene's occasional sobs. I slowed my breathing as well as my heartbeat, letting my muscles relax. I switched from an offensive body position to a bored one, though still portraying the grace of a deadly predator. Finally the TURK who had forced me to drop Naginata cleared his throat.

"Kiyoko, you are to cease hostilities and come with us immediately, as ordered by President Shinra. Any further actions you make will only cause collateral damage to the innocent bystanders." He finished his speech with a gesture towards Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel. The TURKs holding the said hostages tensed, trying to hide their fear with aggressive behavior. Marlene's cries grew louder, and even Tifa gasped in fear; not for herself but for the kids.

I smirked, a chuckle coming to my throat. Despite my best efforts to restrain myself I burst out laughing. "You really are stupid, aren't you. Do you really think that holding a hostage will make me drop my defenses and allow you to take me back to Shinra. Don't get me wrong, if your offer was different I might choose in their favor, but I have no ties to those people. Do what you want with them, because I am not going with you. No way in hell am I going with you!" I spat angrily. I could feel Tifa's glare boring into me, her rage boiling from my outburst.

_I'm sorry Tifa, I wish there was another way, but I can't give in, not yet. I hope that one day you can forgive me._ I thought to myself. My guilt clashed with my determination; and determination won out. The only reason I did not leave on the spot was the fact that the TURKs still had my only weapon, and I would need Naginata to complete my task. I began planning different ways to retrieve Naginata when the TURK who had given me the ultimatum spoke once more, "Very well, I see you have made your choice. In that case we have been given permission to use whatever force necessary to capture you, even _him_."

My heart stopped beating as sheer terror began to flood my veins. Right on queue, a door opened from a car that had been parked on the street. A hand gloved in black leather gripped the door from the inside, allowing for the figure inside to step out from the confines into the street. The arm was fully covered with the black leather, leading to silver shoulder pads that were jointed for ease of movement. A long black coat flapped in the wind; the other arm was equally covered. A belt around the man's waist kept the coat from opening fully, but black pants and black boots could be seen as the coat twisted away from his body. His long silver hair danced in the wind, like flowing waves of moonlight, beautiful but deadly. He turned his head, allowing the clouded sunlight to illuminate his face and reflect the Mako blue eyes that pierced into mine. A smirk played on his lips; amused at the terror in my eyes. _Sephiroth_, I thought with pure fear.

He turned away from the car, walking slowly towards the TURK who held Naginata and the speaker. "Hello Kiyoko. It's been far too long since I last gazed on that sweet face of yours." He spoke quietly, but the words shook me harder than physical blows. He grabbed Naginata from the TURK and tossed it to me. I caught the spinning shaft with shaking hands. "I have orders to bring you back to Shinra, but he said nothing of bringing you back unharmed. Come, show me what power you have, the one they speak of in hushed tones." Masamune appeared in his hand, its deadly length reflecting the pale sunlight. Sephiroth twisted the long sword so that the blade trailed toward the ground. Without further ado, he struck.

I had no chance to react. One moment he was with the TURKs, the next he stood behind me, Masamune piercing my back and abdomen. I realized that not only was he stronger and faster than I, his powers were completely out of my league; I stood no chance against such a monster. I coughed, a warm metallic taste filled my mouth as I choked on my own blood. Sephiroth removed Masamune, letting me fall to my knees, grasping my stomach in agony. Before I realized that Sephiroth no longer stood behind me, a boot connected with my injured body and I lifted from the ground; his kick was powerful enough to send my body flying through the air into the building across from Seventh Heaven.

I crashed through the wall and into the first room. The building had been vacated long before, so there was nothing inside the building but rubble. I maneuvered onto one elbow, blood stinging my eyes from numerous cuts on my head; I also had cuts along my arms, legs, and back. My breathing was unsteady from the pain. My vision began to blur. "What a pity. Is this all you can do, Kiyoko? I feel slighted. They all spoke of your power with fear, but I see nothing more than a frightened child." As Sephiroth spoke he entered the vacant building. He lifted me by the collar of my vest. Our eyes connected, and I felt Jenova fight against her seal. He threw me out of the building, creating a new hole in the wall in doing so.

As I hit the ground once more, I felt Naginata's sharp blade pierce my arm. As the Materia blade ran with my blood, I felt something else flow within me; a rage at my useless defenses, and hate against this monster that had separated me from Kadaj, and a fear that if I gave up now I would never see Kadaj again. I struggled to rise, my body jerkily responding through the pain. Kadaj's necklace slipped from beneath my vest and hung from my neck. It caught the pale sunlight and shone with a new light, but it also caught Sephiroth's attention. "Oh what's this, a memento from my former host? Here let me remove it for you so you will no longer be forced to endure his suffering."

Sephiroth grabbed the chain from around my neck and yanked; the silver links snapped and he tossed the charm into the air. Using his own Materia powers, he directed a concentrated blast toward the charm; it shattered under the attack, as did my control over Jenova's hate driven power.

The seal on Jenova weakened, but only her power slipped through, not the monster herself. I could no longer feel the pain from my injuries, only a burning as her power flowed through my veins. "Well, well. The rumors were true. You do have a secret. Now the real fight can begin." Sephiroth whispered, but his words could not reach me. He slashed at me with Masamune, only to find Naginata's blade in the way. My left arm was numb with the recoil as his blade clashed with Naginata, but even that feeling was dulled by the power of Jenova. I raised my eyes to meet Sephiroth, and what he saw there was no longer the fear of a mortal but the hatred of the vengeful. Sephiroth moved away from my body, repositioning himself to be ready for my next move. I stood, ignoring the quiet protests of my body. My eyes never left his, though; even as the blood flowed into my vision, we kept eye contact.

I could feel other eyes upon me, the eyes of the TURKs, Tifa, and the children, but ignored their presences. My only goal was before me. I let Naginata grow, allowing the shaft to resume its full length. The Materia blade was glowing with Jenova's power. Our movements became unreadable to the naked eye, for we used the Materia jump to move from one spot to the next, blades clashing. But even with the boost of power, I was no match for Sephiroth. My body was tiring, even if I could not feel the full effects of my exhaustion yet. I had to end this quickly, with one last attack, lest Sephiroth render me unconscious and effectively seal my fate.

I jumped as far from him as I could, gathering all the Materia flowing in my veins into one compressed fist. I let Naginata fall to the ground, the shaft shortening as the weapon left my hand. He recognized my actions, and came at me, attempting to stop me before I could gather enough Materia. But even as fast as he was, he could not reach me in time. I released the burst of Materia at him. The power flowed out of me, and crashed into his frame. He was pushed backwards, into the speaking TURK and the injured TURK; they were not as resilient to Materia as Sephiroth and died almost instantly as the sheer force crushed them.

I fell to my knees, having resealed Jenova's power and released the power that had escaped. The pain that had been almost silent racked my body, paralyzing me. Sephiroth stood from where he had been flung, and carried nothing more than a small scratch. "How interesting, you can still control the power within you, even broken as you are. I look forward to facing you when you are prepared." And with that said, he disappeared. The remaining TURKs looked at one another, and then back at me.

The TURK with the gun slammed it into Tifa's skull, stunning her. Marlene and Denzel were tossed aside; the four TURKs then proceeded to approach me cautiously, the barrel of the gun pointed at me head. I took in the scene with apathy, too exhausted to move let alone try to defend myself. I closed my eyes, letting my mind drift towards unconsciousness.

Four gunshots were fired in rapid succession, but I was too numb to fell the pain. It was only when I heard the TURKs fall I realized that I hadn't been shot. I opened my eyes, trying to comprehend what had happened. I raised my eyes from the dead TURKs to the roof of Seventh Heaven, where three dark figures stood, silhouettes as the sun shone through the clouds behind them.


	6. The Importance of Silence

A/N: I realized when reading this piece again that there was something important missing, so Gomen for any confusion!

The Importance of Silence

The three figures jumped from the roof to the street, landing with ease. The man on the right wore a tight leather vest with long sleeves, the front only partly zipped to reveal hardened pectorals; straps crossed across the vest from shoulder pads, and his hands were gloved. On his left arm was a weapon that allowed him to focus Materia into quick electric shocks to stun his enemies. His legs were covered in long leather pants that ended in knee high black boots. His hair was shaved close to his scalp, but long enough to run his fingers through. He was the tallest of the three, but did not carry the most intimidating presence.

The man on the left was not the most intimidating either; if anything he was the least so. He wore a long leather jacket covered in similar straps and shoulder pads to the former, as well as the gloves, but wore his hair past his shoulders to the middle of his back. His long black leather pants and most of his boots were covered by his jacket, and he carried a single gun at his side. He was not as tall as the other, but neither was he the shortest.

The shortest and most intimidating man of the three stood in the middle. He wore a similar long jacket to the one on the left, but the lower halves of the tails were strapped to his thighs. His long black pants could be seen on the inside of his legs, as well as his boots. Sheathed at his side was a double bladed sword. His hair fell straight from his scalp to his shoulders, partially covering the right side of his face. All three of the men sported the same green, slit-pupil eyes and silver hair.

To many, the three would seem a sign of evil and bad luck, but to me their arrival was as close to a miracle as I had ever experienced. I breathed a sigh of relief Kadaj, in the center with Loz on his right and Yazoo on his left, strode toward me. I fell backwards off me knees and onto my ass, my hands spread on either side to balance myself as my tense muscles relaxed as one. I straightened my legs before me, stretching out the knots and working the lactic acid out of my system. My whole body ached, but so far most wounds were either superficial or simple bruises. Meanwhile Kadaj and company had walked past the recovering Tifa, who was being attended to by Denzel and Marlene; Marlene was sobbing with fear, and Denzel was barely keeping his own cries silent.

As they closed the gap between themselves and me, Loz reached down and grabbed Naginata from where my blast had flung the weapon. Yazoo was the first to reach where I sat, and kneeled down. Quickly, hands glowing with Materia, he grasped my face with his palms, reading my body to hunt out the more serious of the wounds; luckily they were only the through and through from Masamune and three broken ribs, which he placed his hands over. I felt the coolness of the Materia flow through my abdomen and side as Yazoo used his healing technique to mend the ribs and torn flesh. My eyes had remained locked with Kadaj's, who had crouched down, threatening to tear at any moment as I drank in his presence.

I couldn't say anything, but could only think, _They're alive_. After living in the darkness of ignorance for so long, I couldn't believe that the brothers were here, now; that we were together again.

Yazoo broke the silence, "Well luckily for you most of the damage will heal on its own, but the next time you try to attack brother please tell us so we can stop you. The last thing we need is for you to get yourself killed." I could hear the smile, but did not look away from Kadaj.

"I'll make sure to remember that, Yaz, though it would have been nice of you three to let me know that you were planning a visit so I could have prepared." I retorted, flinching as he finished knitting my muscles back together from where Masamune had cut. Kadaj's blank face was now a smirk, and even Loz barked a laugh. The moment would have been perfect if not for Marlene's sobs and the groans of dying TURKs in the background.

Yazoo lifted his hands from my side, and new pink flesh stretched where moments before there had only been blood. The holes in my vest and pants would take more then just Materia to fix, though. I dropped my eyes from Kadaj, fingering a relatively large tear on my thigh. I would have to find a new set of clothes now. "Ehem," I looked up, and realized that Kadaj had stood once more and now held out a hand for me to grab; I did so willingly, letting him pull my stiff body up. My muscles were not fully recovered yet, and I toppled forward ungracefully. But instead of falling toward the ground I felt myself caught in midair by strong arms; I was swept off my feet and cradled by the arms, my tired eyes looking up at Kadaj's smirk.

Yazoo had stood as well, and Loz moved to stand next to his younger brother. Though Kadaj was the youngest, they clearly followed his orders and were waiting for his decision as what to do next. "Kadaj," I said quietly, "take me to the woman and the children. Put me down when we get close enough. I need to talk to her." Kadaj's façade of arrogance was replaced with complacency as he moved to obey my request. The four of us approached the unsteadily rising Tifa.

Kadaj slowly lowered my legs to the ground and waited as I moved jerkily to where Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel stood. I reached out to help Tifa stand. "Tifa, I'm sorry for all this. I didn't want-" Tifa's gloved hand shot out and connected with my jaw. I stumbled back, holding my throbbing face with one hand as I waved Kadaj back with the other.

"You're sorry! You were willing to let Marlene and Denzel be killed if it meant that you would be free. I'm almost sorry that Shinra didn't take you back. You have no right to play with our lives like that!" My cheek was not the only part of me that stung from her outburst. Denzel and Marlene hid behind Tifa with fear on their faces. I realized that the TURKs were only part of their fear, and I was the rest. My barriers broke, and for the first time since Shinra had first captured me three years back, I let my tears flow in the shining sun.

"Tifa, I'm, well, I'm so sorry. I had no intention of letting the kids get hurt. You know that. And you also know why I can't give Shinra any chance at taking me back. Please, Tifa, understand this and accept me. You don't have to forgive me, but please accept my apology." Her face softened, and her rage melted away. I wiped the tears from my eyes, ashamed that I had broken down like that despite my vows to myself. Tifa raised her hand and wiped away a tear as well, her smile saying more than words ever could. Denzel and Marlene had calmed down as well. Her eyes now traveled over my shoulder to the three men trying to look at anything but her and me. "I take it these are the others from Shinra, the ones like you."

"Oh, yes. The one on the far right is Yazoo, then Loz in the middle, and the last is Kadaj." Each one responded accordingly; Loz waved slightly, Yazoo nodded, and Kadaj merely smirked. I would have to explain to the three what had passed between Tifa and me later. "This is Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene. They live there," I motioned to the damaged bar, "and gave me a place to stay last night. Oh, and another lives with them, Cloud."

"Big Brother is here!" Loz yelped. Yazoo looked uncomfortable, but Kadaj kept his smirk. Tifa looked at me with more questions in her eyes. I motioned to her that I would explain it later. At the moment my head was starting to hurt, partially from exhaustion and partially from Jenova testing her limits again. I swayed on my feet as the pressure increased and would have fallen if Kadaj had not jumped to my side. I heard him as if from a distance asking Tifa where I could rest. I retained my consciousness as he carried me inside the bar and placed me in one of the chairs that remained standing. He leaned before my face, whispering. We had faced this challenge before, and I focused on his moving lips. Jenova quieted, retreating to the corners of my mind and I began to hear Kadaj's voice, "Fight her, Kiyoko, don't let her win. She doesn't deserve to win and take away what we have earned. Fight her. Fight her." He repeated himself until I let my breath out with a sigh and leaned back in the chair, the fight finally over for now.

Tifa, Marlene, Denzel, Loz, and Yazoo hovered over Kadaj and me, bringing a smile to my lips as I realized how alike Loz and Yazoo were to the children at the moment. "I'm fine. Just tired." My voice was quiet, but steady. Kadaj nodded skeptically, but accepted my words. He stood and faced his brothers, "Take care of the mess outside. Leave as little trace as possible." Loz and Yazoo hesitated, not wanting to leave my side, but after a glare from Kadaj left the bar to remove the bodies of the TURKs from the street before people started home from their jobs in Edge. Tifa directed Denzel and Marlene to help her straighten up the bar, while Kadaj went to join his brothers outside in the clean up. I thought over what Sephiroth had said to me, before he had left. He had spoken of my power, and fighting me again. What did that mean? My moment of peace was short lived, though, because the three brothers had finished their work.

They came in and sat at the table, now fully equipped with chairs and glasses of water, and it became clear to me that the time to talk had come; and this may be one of the last chances we would find to have such peace and quiet. Tifa sent Marlene and Denzel upstairs to check on the damage above, and after ensuring our comfort, joined them. The silence fell upon us, and we welcomed the break from the chaos that would come to surround our lives once more.

A/N: If you did not see the new part it was the fact that Kiyoko was shocked to see them again...I know it was watered down, but I'll go back another time to edit that, so for now this is it.


	7. A Place to Belong

A Place to Belong

The silence was broken only by the ticking of the clock on the far wall behind the bar, measuring out the seconds into minutes. Now that the time to talk had come, it seemed that none of us had anything to say. Even Loz, who seemed to always be cracking a joke, was somber. I traced the veins of wood on the table with my fingertip, trying to organize my thoughts. Yazoo was staring out the far window, lost in his own thoughts. Finally after minutes had passed Kadaj, who had been watching me the whole time, broke the silence, "Well, seeing as no one else wants to take the first move I will.

"I should begin with telling you how we escaped from Shinra. After the project was completed, and Sephiroth created, I was locked away to rot to death in a cell with Loz and Yazoo. Shinra then focused his efforts in controlling Sephiroth. For the first few days Sephiroth was untamed, and tried repeatedly to leave the test site and find you. Loz, Yazoo, and I took the lack of security on our cell to test different escape methods. As you can see one of those methods proved successful, but not before we heard that Shinra and Sephiroth had finally come to an understanding. I don't know exactly what was agreed upon by the two, but my guess is that you were involved in the negotiations.

"When our chance to escape came six weeks ago, we took that opportunity and fled from our confines. We took shelter in the Forgotten City to plan out what to do next. We decided that so long as you wore the necklace I gave you, we would know where you were and that we should instead focus on scouting Shinra's weaknesses and the best way to take him down. We spent most of the six weeks honing our skills and retrieving our weapons, or at least most of them. Loz's gun is still within Healin Lodge, but we couldn't waste any more time on that directive since we were all basically armed at that point.

"We also discovered a few slip ups in Shinra's defenses we can use to infiltrate Healin to strike. Once we gained all that information, we began running through training exercises to plan out different ways to take down Shinra, but of course nothing was certain until we planned to meet with you. We wanted to contact you and tell you that we were alive and preparing to fight, but we just couldn't find the right time to contact you. It didn't help when you were always moving from place to place and we didn't know if you were safe enough to openly contact yet.

"We were planning in contacting you after we fully understood Sephiroth' and Shinra's plans, but when you lost possession of the necklace last night, we feared the worst. We dropped everything that we had been working on and moved. At the moment our method of transportation is walking, so that's why we took so long to find you. Even after you regained the necklace we were worried that you had been captured and so we kept moving. And it's a damn good thing we did or else Shinra would have you and I don't even want to think about what that would mean for us right now." Kadaj finished his story and drank from the glass before him. Loz and Yazoo remained silent, and I realized that they had nothing to add to the story and were waiting for my own tale.

"Well my story is shorter and much less interesting, because pretty much after I fled from Shinra I have been on the move. During my initial escape I took the risk of arming myself and actually got my hands on Naginata and a small supply of Materia; which I used up by the way. I've been keeping a pretty low profile, and haven't had much of a chance to learn much of anything. As you just saw Shinra has been keeping a lookout for me for obvious reasons, though this was the first time I had to confront the forces. I wish that I hadn't had to fight just now, because Tifa and the others have become involved in our problems. Oh, and last night I met big brother and his companions, who might be willing to help us, but I'm not sure. I only saw them briefly before, well, stuff happened. I believe that they may be willing to hear us out and join our cause, especially big brother." I knew that I had left much unsaid, but those were words that only Kadaj would hear, later. But at the hint of prospective allies Loz and Yazoo perked up, though Kadaj simply looked thoughtful; no doubt wondering how much we could trust them.

I looked at the clock and realized that an hour had passed since Cloud had left to deliver the package, and that he would be returning soon. "I suppose we should allow the woman and children to come back down now, before Cloud comes back and wonders why we are in his home and his family is nowhere in sight; we cannot afford a misunderstanding at this point." Even Kadaj cracked a smile at the joke, though it was not the best I had ever made. Kadaj motioned for Yazoo and Loz to go upstairs and find the said family. While the two older brothers moved toward the stairs, insulting one another as they did so, Kadaj moved to where I stood behind the chair I had been sitting in.

He stood before me, his smirk widening as I leaned against the chair biting my lower lip, my arms crossed. He reached out to me, his gloved hands holding either side of my face as he leaned forward. I unfolded my arms and threw them around his neck; his hands dropped around my waist. He pulled me close to his body, our mouths locked. Three months of separation made the moment even sweeter as we kissed, not wanting to ever let go. It had been too long since we had last shared this embrace. We would never have let go had Loz not come back down the stairs, "Wow, you guys took no time at all. You couldn't wait to get a room or something. There are kids here." I turned my head to Loz, breaking the kiss, to glare at his laughing face. Marlene giggled at the face I made, and Tifa smiled and shook her head; no doubt she knew exactly what I was feeling at the moment. Denzel laughed with Loz, reminding me again of how the eldest brother happened to also be the most immature, while Yazoo smirked and brushed his hair behind his face with a hand. Kadaj snorted, half in anger and half in amusement, and after one last squeeze around my waist released me. He knew that what had just started he would finish later.

I looked back to the table where Naginata, Souba, Velvet Nightmare, and Dual Hound lay in the center, reminders of the vow the four of us took so long ago. I could feel Kadaj's eyes on me, but what broke me from my reverie was Marlene's high pitched squeal, "Cloud! You're back!"

I looked up to face the blonde, but instead of confusion on his face I saw hate. I realized that to him Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo were like replicas of Sephiroth, and that they stood between him and his family. And there was the fact that there was obvious damage to the bar and surrounding areas. Loz's exclamation of "Big Brother!" did not help much either.

"Well I guess it's too late to tell you not to jump to any conclusions, but before this gets any worse, I'd like to introduce you to Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, the ones I told you about earlier. I should have told you about their appearances before, so sorry if you are being thrown through a loop right now," I said hurriedly, trying to ease the tension before any blood was shed. Cloud looked past me to Tifa, where she gave him some sign that she and kids were alright. He lowered the core blade, a sign that the hostilities were over. I felt Kadaj relax at my side. The three brothers nodded in acknowledgment as I introduced them.

"What happened out there? Don't think I couldn't tell that there was a fight." Cloud demanded.

"It was Shinra. They found me and tried to take me back, but obviously they failed. It was nothing to worry about, and I don't think Shinra will think you're involved, so if you want us to leave, we will. But I do have one request, that you and the rest of your friends hear me out. I just want to talk to them and see if they will help us. I don't need an answer from you now, Cloud, but please think on what I said earlier." During my little speech Cloud had walked past Kadaj and me to where Tifa stood next to Loz. "You can stay, for now. But I won't make any promises. Do what you want until the others show, but I will tell you this, don't put my family in any more danger; you do and I won't help you at all." Cloud looked me in the eye as he made is final statement, and then walked up the stairs to the bedrooms. Tifa turned to follow him, calling to him; she was no doubt going to explain what had happened.

"You didn't tell him about Sephiroth," Kadaj whispered to me, "don't you think he would want to know? And shouldn't he know that Shinra will involve him at this point?"

"Seph is our problem this time, not his. And the less he knows right now the better; tonight will be the time for words." I replied quietly, but inside I knew that Kadaj was right. And we would need Cloud's help to defeat the monster, whether I wanted to involve him in that mess or not. An awkward silence fell, and Denzel and Marlene tried to look occupied but were obviously bored. They slipped to the side to play a board game, and to their surprise Loz and Yazoo joined them. I smiled, noticing how easily those two could act like children; I hint at the truth that they had never had a true childhood of their own. Kadaj sat down at the table and started to clean Souba, leaving me standing to find something else to do. I sat across from him and closed my eyes, my chin propped on my hands. I let my mind wander to what Sephiroth had said once more.

_My other power? What was he talking about? And why does he want to fight me again, when he knows he's just going to win. And why didn't he take me back to Shinra when he had the chance, unless he has something else planned, something worse than what Shinra wants. But does he want to fight me, or Jenova? What is he really after…_A yell from Loz broke my train of thought. I looked over at him, and laughed at his misery as he was losing the game. This carefree moment did wonders for our strength, and it was moments like these that I was fighting for. I looked at the clock, and then at all the pictures along the walls. There were pictures of laughing, smiling faces; Marlene and Denzel mostly, and only one of the whole family in one shot. I stood to take a closer look at the pictures, and thought wistfully of how Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo, and I had never had that life. We had always dreamed of a free life, but lived with the horror of reality instead. I wondered if Kadaj and I would ever feel the joy of parenthood, and if Loz and Yazoo would be able to live without the pressures of being hunted.

The clock chimed the hour, seven in the evening, and Tifa came downstairs as if on queue. She looked at the sight before her, Loz and Yazoo with the children on the floor and Kadaj cleaning his swords as well as me by the pictures on the wall, but said nothing. She walked behind the bar and began setting up for the later crowd, who would begin to trickle in. I walked over to her and realized that I hadn't eaten since the fruit much earlier. My stomach growled, and I felt the heat rising in my face. Tifa stared at me with surprise, and then burst out laughing. "Here, let me make something for dinner. Who's hungry?"

"Food! Alright!" Denzel shouted, followed by Marlene, "Me, me!" Loz also looked up from the game expectantly, as did Yazoo. Loz's appetite was shown clearly on his face as opposed to the more composed Yazoo. Kadaj grunted, still focused on Souba. "I'll take something," Cloud called from the top of the stairs. Tifa now realized her mistake in offering dinner to such voracious appetites. "Well, maybe I'll just order out. There are a few more stomach to feed than I'm used to. Who wants pizza?" The combined cheer was all she needed to hear. Tifa retreated upstairs to call out.

The sky outside was darkening, and I realized with a shock it had only been twenty-four hours since I had first met Tifa and the Cloud, but it felt like I had known them for years. It felt like I had a place to belong.

**A/N: Arigatou for reading! If you have any reviews I would love to hear what you think so far! Oh, and also keep an eye out for the crackfics I will be posting...some will pertain to this story, others to basic FFVII.**


	8. Changing Clothes

Changing Clothes

I turned back to the pictures, fingering the hole in my pant leg. Reminded of that problem, I decided that Tifa would probably be the best choice to ask for spare clothes, and moved to the stairs to track down the motherly woman. Kadaj had finished his cleaning and had moved to annoy Loz, showing a softer side than usual. I smiled to myself, and thought how perfect a father he could be.

I turned my attention back to the stairs. Taking them slowly I thought of what I would say to the group I had met the night before, and wondered how they might react to the information I would share with them, as well as the appearances of Kadaj and his brothers; no doubt they had met Sephiroth already and would reach the same conclusion Cloud had first had. I reached the door to the study upstairs and heard Tifa's voice as she ordered the food. I leaned against the wall to wait for her to hang up. My wait was short, but before I had the chance to enter the room I heard Cloud's voice, "Tifa, I don't think we should trust them. There are just too many gaps in her story and then there is the fact that Kadaj and his brothers are remnants of Sephiroth. We have no idea what they are capable of, and if they are really telling us the truth of their escape. This could all be Sephiroth's doing. Maybe he didn't take her because he wants her to hurt us from the inside. I don't think we should agree to anything, yet. I can't put Marlene and Denzel in any danger, or you."

"Cloud, if they were going to hurt us I don't think-"

"You said yourself that Kiyoko was willing to sacrifice you and the kids. How can you trust her so easily? Listen I'm going to poke around at Healin and see if I can dig up anything. If Kiyoko's story is true then I'm sure I'll find something indicative. Just please be careful. And if that really was Sephiroth than Shinra can't keep something that dangerous a secret. I know you think you saw him, but I want to make sure before we make the wrong decision."

"You know I would never do anything to put the kids in danger. And you're right, there is something off about her whole story, and I know she's hiding something deeper from us; but we have to respect her responsibility for the whole situation. And I don't believe that she would actually have left the kids and me to die." The rest of her statement was lost in the shouts from below.

"Just promise me that if it turns out that Kiyoko is trying to hurt us you won't try to change her, and that you will take the kids and leave. She's dangerous, I can feel it. Just promise me." Tifa made a noncommittal noise, but Cloud made his demand once more; Tifa agreed. Deep inside I knew I should have expected the reaction from Cloud, but his words still stung. My hands curled into fists, and I wanted to go in screaming at his arrogance; at his belief that he was the only able person in the world, that he could control destiny. But instead I forced myself to relax, and put on the façade of ignorance.

I knocked on the door, alerting Tifa and Cloud to my presence. I opened the door and poked my head in, placing a shy smile on my face. "Um, Tifa sorry to be more demanding, but I was wondering if you, well, had a change of clothes I could borrow. Mine seem to be in pretty bad shape right now." I looked at some of the larger tears for emphasis.

She laughed, "I thought you'd never ask. I didn't want to bother you earlier while you were catching up, and didn't want to be rude in front of the guys when I came down just now. Here, let's go find something." Tifa's smile showed nothing of her recent conversation, a mask like my own. Cloud remained apathetic, simply watching the exchange. As Tifa herded me from the room into her bedroom I could feel Cloud's eyes on my back, daring me to prove his suspicions correct.

Tifa led the way to her bedroom, humming to herself as she opened the door and led me to a dresser of clothes. "Probably not any of these, maybe something older. I think we're about the same height, but that's about the only thing we share." It was true, I was smaller then Tifa in just about every other aspect. I waited as Tifa knelt down to search for more fitting clothes. After rummaging through the bottom of the bottom drawer, Tifa pulled out a long white tee and green shorts. I grimaced at the colors, but decided that the ensemble would motivate me to fix my own clothes that much faster. Tifa laughed at the look on my face, "I'm sorry, but this is all I have. Well actually, you might fit in some of Cloud's old clothes. Can't hurt to check, and I'm sure anything he has will be black or navy." She bounced onto her feet and moved to the second, smaller dresser next to the wardrobe. After a few long minutes of searching, Tifa pulled out a mess of belts, cloth, and metal. "Ah, here it is. I knew it had to be in here somewhere." I stared at the pile, confused. I picked up some of the cloth with one hand, and realized that the mess was actually a navy, ribbed shirt, navy jeans, a green scarf, and an assortment of straps and metal pads; the metal was part of the shirt and pants and therefore a necessary part of the outfit unfortunately. Tifa saw my face and fell over laughing. "It looks more confusing than it actually is." I stared at her, glaring.

Tifa sorted the clothes and began handing me articles to put on, starting with the shirt, which I now noticed the green scarf was also attached to and could not be removed. I slid off my torn black coat and vest, only slightly aware of Tifa's flinches at the sight of the scars. I slid on the new clothes and noticed that they were almost a perfect fit, which annoyed me because it reminded me of how flat chested I was. Next came the pants, which were long and baggy. Tifa then helped me put on the straps that held the end of the pants off the floor. There was also a belt and harness piece that would hold the shirt in place, seeing as it was a bit large around my waist. I looked in the mirror, and my face scrunched in disgust. I looked like Cloud, only with silver hair. This was not going to go well downstairs; I could already hear Loz's laughter and see Kadaj's smirk.

"Well, at least it fits," was all Tifa said as she held in her amusement. I sighed, but felt the tension from overhearing her earlier conversation with Cloud melt away with the laughter that enveloped us both.

I wiped my eyes as I caught my breath. Tifa and I were now sitting on the floor, gasping. Despite the fact that Cloud's clothes looked ridiculous, they were comfortable. Finally I felt ready to talk again, but before I could say anything, a voice from the hallway called out, "Tifa, the food is here. If you don't hurry the boys are going to eat it all without us!" Marlene entered the room, hands cupped around her mouth to yell again, but was stopped at the mere sight of me. The look on her face was enough to send Tifa and I into a fit of laughing once more. Unfortunately Marlene did not understand what was going on and fled from the room in confusion; Tifa and I laughed even harder.

We were still laughing when the said boys tried to push through to doorway at the same time; apparently Marlene had given her version of events to Cloud and the misunderstanding had now escalated. Tifa and I stood up, ready to expain what had happened, but the pure shock on four faces set us off again, "Your faces!" I cried, gasping for breath. Of the four men, Cloud's mouth hung open, Loz's face displayed how dumbfounded he was, Yazoo looked like he was having trouble connecting the dots, and Kadaj's smirk had been replaced with wide eyes that kept blinking in disbelief. Denzel on the other hand burst out laughing with Tifa and me. Marlene in the back looked angry that her warnings had been thrown out the window.

After a quick explanation and more laughter, the situation was resolved. Tifa moved to the head of the group with Cloud, followed closely by Denzel and Marlen. Loz and Yazoo, exchanging jokes were next, leaving Kadaj and I to end the procession. But before I could enter the hallway, he grabbed my hand. "Kiyoko, we need to talk about these allies of yours. What makes you so sure that they will be willing to help us? And what makes you think they won't give us to Shinra to protect their own asses?"

"Kadaj, listen, I can't tell you why I trust them, I just do. And besides, if the rumors were true about this group than they should be more than happy to help stop Shinra. It was destiny that brought me to this bar last night where I met them in person, after hearing so much about how they don't want Shinra rebuilt. If we can't trust them, than who can we trust? We can't make enemies of the world, even if the world doesn't trust us. We can't change who, or what, we are; we can only survive."

"Fine, do what you want then, but at least wait for my decision as to whether we can trust this group before making any alliances." With that he left the room. I looked at the mirror again, but couldn't find the laughter within me any longer; reality had chased away such bliss. I heard calls of recognition from below, and recognized the voices of Tifa calling out to the newcomers; who happened to be Yuffie and Barret.


	9. Two Words

**A/N:**

**So after writing the last chapter, I was asked by a friend to draw what Kiyoko now looks like…many many hours later, this is what came out…**

jsakurachan1./art/Kiyoko-Color-95016578

**I have to say I am quite proud of myself! The reference is from the Crisis Core Game Guide, and it was a blast to draw and color!**

**Arigatou, I Feel like Ice Cream, for pushing me!**

**Now for chapter 9, phew!**

Two Words

I moved from the room, stretching my arms and legs to become accustomed to the new clothing; the clothes had been in storage for so long they were stiff and scratchy. I was still fussing with the collar when I descended into the bar, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for whatever came next.

Which happened to be Yuffie's extremely loud, "Holy crap…you look like Cloud…" I glared at the girl.

"Don't remind me." Cloud in turn snorted from where he leaned behind the bar. Barret finally overcame his shock and burst out laughing; though he had never personally seen Cloud wearing these clothes he knew what the MPs wore. I sent the glare his way, and he fell onto a barstool to catch his breath. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the door had been repaired at some point, though it was obviously temporary.

Yuffie bounced over to me and threw an arm over my shoulder, "Well, despite your new appearance I have to say you look much better than you did last night. Maybe now we can be friends!" Her face was one big smile. I let her lead me to a seat at the bar, but looking around, realized that Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo were nowhere in sight. Nor were our weapons on the table where I thought Kadaj had left them. _Now where did those guys end up? I thought they came back down, so where could they have gone._

I leaned toward Tifa, who was filling glasses with beer and water for her guests, and whispered, "Where are the three brothers? Did you see them leave or anything?"

"I told them to wait out back, and I meant to tell you but as you can see somebody was early tonight. When you are ready they will come down, but I figured there would be some explaining to do before they made an entrance." I was grateful that Tifa planned ahead, seeing as that was my weakest attribute in social situations. Yuffie caught the tail end of our conversation, and breaking her conversation with Barret turned to us.

"Who's gonna make an entrance?"

"You'll see…" Tifa told her, handing her the beer glasses at the same time to give to Cloud and Barret. Barret had turned to Cloud when Yuffie had abandoned him and was asking, belatedly, about why the bar seemed to look in worse shape than the night before. Cloud looked over at Tifa, but quietly responded that it wasn't his story to tell. Barret was thoroughly confused, but shrugged it off. I watched as Yuffie, Barret, Cloud, and Tifa joked and talked while we waited for the rest to show.

Before long, Cid entered with Red XIII and Cait Sith in tow. Cid looked at me with a shocked expression, though took the new wardrobe in stride while asking, "Feelin' better hun, you looked like you had a rough time yesterday."

"I'm fine, it was Cid, right?"

"Yeah, that's me." He gave me a wink and a smile. Cait Sith and Red XIII moved past Cid to the far end of the bar where Cloud had pulled over a table for the large animal. Cait Sith moved down the bar to stand in front of Yuffie and Barret, taking a small cup of cream from Tifa as she passed to place a bowl of water before Red XIII. Cid sat between Yuffie and Barret. My seat was at the other end of the bar, but that still left only two seats between me and Yuffie. Tifa handed Cid a beer as well, leaving three glasses of water for herself, me, and the final one to arrive.

The sound in the bar grew from quiet chatter to good-natured joking as we waited for the fashionably late Vincent to show. The pizza, which had lain forgotten was opened and passed around on disposable plates; I noticed that Tifa left some in the box for the others waiting. Denzel and Marlene bounced down the stairway to join us, Marlene glomping Barret with a cry of, "Papa!" I choked on my water at the exclamation, and Yuffie turned to me.

"Marlene here is the foster daughter of Barret, but Tifa and Cloud take care of her while Barret is away on business, which seems to be every week," she trailed off with a look toward the larger man. He claimed something about it not being his fault and that he was trying to change his schedule, but laughter soon drowned out his protests.

Denzel in turn started telling Cid about how he was saving up money, or rather Cloud's money, for a bike in the near future. Cid was soon engaged in a technical conversation with the young boy, losing all but Cloud in the details.

Finally, as the hour neared eight p.m., Vincent arrived. Yuffie broke her conversation with Tifa, Cait, and I to yell, "About time! Do you know how late you are? Get a watch or something!" I laughed along with the rest of the occupants as Vincent moved to take on of the remaining two seats at the bar; I couldn't help but feel relieved that it was the one beside Yuffie.

"Nice clothes," he growled. I smiled dryly back at him, my body tensing at being so close to this man; he felt, dangerous. Tifa shooed the two children back upstairs to bed, despite their complaints at the early hour. She promised to come up in a little bit to check on them. As soon as the two children had left the room, first saying good night to the adults accordingly, the talking dwindled into silence.

I watched the children with longing eyes as they ran up the stairs laughing, knowing full well that I couldn't simply ignore the inquisitive looks staring at the back of my head. I racked my brains for the right words to say, but all I found was silence; my heart said I could trust this group but Kadaj's words still haunted my mind.

I looked down at my water glass, cupping it on both hands and raising it to take a long drink, stalling for time. Tifa moved to refill everyone's glasses while grabbing a beer for herself. I put my cup down and let her fill it once more, and heard her whisper, "It's okay, just start wherever and go from there."

"Start anywhere, huh. Well then I guess I'll start with why the bar seems a bit bashed. I have been on the run from Shinra for a few months, and his lackeys caught up with me today. We had a little spat, but nothing we couldn't handle; well mostly. Fuck, I'm just making things worse, let me try that again.

"So when the TURKs showed up earlier to take me back to the Shinra facility, I refused their offer and things got a bit bloody. Shinra has invested quite a chunk of his fortune in me and is understandably upset that I ran away from his test center. I'm not really a normal human being; I'm actually an experiment created by Shinra to recreate Jenova. She lies dormant within me with the exception of moments like last night when I passed out trying to contain her awakening mind. The experiment was labeled the Jenova Project, and as of now remains incomplete; hence the reason Shinra is hunting me.

"Besides the Jenova Project, Shinra ran a second project named the Sephiroth Project. The second project was to clone Sephiroth more or less, and has been completed. Yes, Sephiroth walks amongst us again, though his ambitions remain unknown. For now he seems to be working with Shinra, joining the attempt to capture me earlier." Low curses and whispers accompanied my story as the others tried to accept what they had just learned.

"As I carry Jenova, there were test subjects that carried Sephiroth. Now that their project is complete they have been forgotten, but they have decided to fight Shinra to prevent him from regaining the power of the life stream or of Jenova. They are Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, and they arrived earlier." As if on queue, the three brothers entered the bar from a back door, gaining shocked glances and gasps from the newly enlightened AVALANCHE group; luckily the said group handled the information relatively well and remained seated as the three brothers moved to stand beside me.

"Cid, Barret, Yuffie, Vincent, Red, Cait, meet Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo," I slowly introduced each character, allowing time for brief acknowledgment before moving on. Silence fell as each group stared the other down, calculating and measuring.

Barret, Cid, and Yuffie asked questions with Cait Sith throwing in a word or two, and Kadaj and I answered as best we could. Loz and Yazoo took the opportunity to eat most of the remaining pizza, leaving two slices for Kadaj to finish off.

"So you're saying that Sephiroth is alive, and that he is at the moment working with, or for, Shinra. That's kinda hard to believe, I mean it's been, what, three years since he died…" Barret was the first to speak, voicing the doubt of all the others.

"Sephiroth is alive and as powerful as ever, if not more so. When he last walked the earth three years ago he failed to 'die' so much as he drifted along the lifestream, waiting to be brought back," Kadaj responded, his voice tinged with impatience, as well as the usual hint of arrogance.

The next round of questions surrounded the actual experimentation that the brothers and I had been put through. I hated reliving what Shinra had done, but I knew that if these people were to trust and help us they had a right to know what they would be involved in.

As the conversation returned to the recent events Tifa was asked to confirm certain details, more specifically the appearance of Sephiroth. Cloud remained silent, not having anything to say.

With a final turn, the questions returned to Shinra and why he was reviving Jenova and Sephiroth. Neither Kadaj nor I had any answer for that.

I felt myself growing more and more tired as the minutes passed; finally at 9:15 the questions ceased. I looked up from the bar, I had long given up on talking and had let Kadaj answer most of the questions, and waited for the next move.

Loz and Yazoo stopped talking from where they sat at a nearby table as the talking ceased. Tifa excused herself to go check on the children, but not before refilling drinks for what had to be the fifth time. Vincent, who had remained silent, finally asked the last question, "Why are you telling us all this?"

I looked to Kadaj, waiting for his approval as he had requested. He nodded, allowing me to answer, "Because we need your help to stop Shinra. We need your strength and your experience. And because looking back at the earlier fight and it's turnout, Shinra may think you are involved and come after you any way."

"So even if we refuse to help you we may still be targeted," Vincent concluded. An icy chill fell on the room as I nodded. Tifa meanwhile had returned to the bar and heard the words of Vincent.

"Now that you know what is going on, you must also know that time is running out. I don't know what Shinra is planning, as I already said, but I do know that the sooner we stop him, the sooner we can breath easier. I don't like pressuring you, but we need to know if you are willing to help us or not," I spoke to every member of AVALANCHE, impressing upon them the importance of haste now.

Cloud was the first to respond, "Well, since you leave us no choice but to decide tonight, I think it would be reasonable if you would leave us alone to talk this out." His words were harsh, but true. I stood, echoed by the sound of Loz and Yazoo rising as well, and led the three brothers upstairs. Tifa stopped me shortly to tell us that we could stay in the children's room tonight so at least there would be two beds, and that was also where we could wait for now. I thanked her, and followed Kadaj up the narrow staircase to the room at the end of the hall.

The window had been covered with a curtain for now, nailed on the sides to try to keep out the cold. Loz and Yazoo sat on the bed near the door to wait for Kadaj or me to speak. I flipped the light switch, flooding the small room with a dull yellow blow as Kadaj moved to the far bed and flopped down face up, sighing. I moved over to him, lying beside him on my side with one arm draped over his chest; I faced away from the other two but could hear their snorts. "Thank you," I whispered, pushing my forehead into his shoulder.

He moved his arm so I could lay my head on his chest, and then placed the arm behind my neck and around my back. I could feel the straps of Cloud's uniform digging into my side, but ignored the protests of my nerves. I closed my eyes and felt his arm stroke my back; his silence as well as the silence of the other two told me that they were speaking to each other in their own way. I felt myself drifting asleep, pushing away all the doubts and fear in my heart, letting myself relax in Kadaj's strong arms.

His voice woke me, "Kiyoko, what happened to the necklace? I can't sense it."

"I'm sorry, but when Seph attacked he destroyed it. He…He said he was freeing me from your suffering…"

"That bastard. Kiyoko, when we do move, please promise me you won't try to fight him alone. Promise me, even if it means losing a battle, you will run. I don't know what I would do without you, I think I would go crazy. Even thinking of a life without you is unbearable." His grip tightened around me.

"Kadaj, I-"

"It's just two words, Kiyoko. Please."

"I-I promise." There was no response, but I could feel him relax beneath me. At that moment, I could have asked for nothing more.


	10. Nightmares and Love

**A/N:**

**This is the most OOC chapter so far…Sorry about that but in my special little world this is how I see the characters…**

Nightmares and Love

A gentle hand stroking my face brought me back to reality. I scrunched my eyes chut, not wanting to ruin the beauty and perfection of the moment, but Kadaj then began poking my exposed cheek playfully; times like this reminded me of his innocent and childish nature. I opened my left eye to glare at the offending hand.

The poke turned to a caress, and Kadaj cupped my face with the care of a lover. A cool draft from flew in from the broken window, and despite how heavy Cloud's clothes were I shivered. I heard Loz and Yazoo whispering to each other from across the room. Pieces of their conversation reached my ears, "Big Brother will help us, won't he Yaz? I mean, he knew Sephiroth before we did, and doesn't it mean anything to him that bad, things, and stuff are gonna happen?"

"Loz, stop thinking before your brain overheats, or you have a mental breakdown." Loz sputtered in his own defense. I smiled to myself, those two would never change no matter how bad things might become. And in that thought there was comfort. I closed my eye and took in Kadaj's scent, remembering the truth that this may be the last time that we would share such and embrace.

A tear threatened to slip from my eye, and I swallowed down the lump in my throat. Loz and Yaz continued to talk in a steady murmer, with the occasional exclamation from Loz as Yaz teased the older man. I felt myself drifting to sleep, one to rest my body and mind, as the sun fell behind the horizon and night descended upon the city…

Rain fell from the sky, masking my tears. I couldn't speak or move, only watch as the flames climbed higher and higher, burning the building with an unearthly intensity. The heat reached my pale face, and despite the rain I felt as though the fire burned around me. I tried to tear my eyes away from the destruction, but my efforts were in vain.

The flames moved in a deadly dance, drawing me in, closer and closer. I felt my foot begin to shuffle over the wet pavement and I slowly inched closer to the heat, drawn by some unnatural force. My mind screamed in protest, willing my body to run away, but I no longer controlled the flesh and blood; I was a prisoner in my own body, and that body seemed to have a death wish.

I closed my eyes, and the tears flowed with more intensity. _Not now, I can't have worked so hard to lose it all now…I won't lose to her…I can't…I have to find him…I can't give up until I find him…_

My voice faded as pain flared from behind my eyes. She had risen from her slumber and was fighting for full control of my mind as well as my body. We had fought this battle before, and the outcomes were fairly even with her gaining control at times or vice versa. But I could no longer fight this battle, I could no longer fight the pain and suffering that our constant war caused my body.

There was nothing I wouldn't give to be free of her, of Jenova. Well, almost nothing. I would give up everything except the chance to see him one last time. One last chance to tell him why I left, why I betrayed him, and why I still love him.

_Kadaj, I'm so sorry for everything, I wish you could hear those words, and could forgive me. Oh god I'm so sorry. I never should have hurt you the way I did. If only I told you this before, perhaps none of this would be happening, perhaps we could have lived your dream._

I could see his laughing face before me, a face full of innocence and trust, the face that I had broken forever with my words of love and betrayal. But still the face remained unchanged before me, still full of love and laughter, the face that I had loved with all my heart.

But now it was too late to see him, to tell him everything. And with that realization, my will faltered, and Jenova grasped my consciousness with her own twisted will and my world went black. The last thought I had before I lost total control was the simple truth: _Kadaj, I love you._

A dim glow enveloped my body in the dream and I drifted in the darkness, with no destination or origination. I wanted to scream, to wake from the nightmare that Jenova forced me to endure over and over again. "I won't betray him, I love him and you cannot hurt us so long as we stand against you! You will fall!"

"You are me, and I am you. You will betray others, for it is your destiny to become my vessel in the new order. You can fight me now, but in the end I will overpower your weak defenses and finish what I began all those years ago. And you will be the one to help me." I could feel her presence in the darkness, she was the darkness. I curled into the fetal position, repeating to myself that she lied, that I had the strength. Her mocking laughter surrounded me and I covered my ears, wishing for the nightmare to end. Darkness blew out the light that enveloped me, and I was lost in the darkness…

A steady stroking woke me from my nightmare. I gasped in shock and my eyes shot open to meet Kadaj's, full of concern and love; he had shifted me as I slept to lay my head on a pillow beside his own. The nightmare was not uncommon, they were Jenova's way of tearing me apart from the inside. "Ki, that woman, Tifa, came to tell us that the Big Brother is ready to tell us what they decided. If you're not feeling well I can go with Yaz and leave Loz with you until you are ready…" The way Kadaj spoke hinted that he knew what was happening during my dreams, or at least a version of it.

"No, I'll come too. It is my fault that they-"

"Don't you ever say that! This is all caused by that bastard Shinra and his guinea pig Sehpiroth. You have done nothing!" Loz and Yaz had fallen silent, uncomfortable with the sudden outburst and unsure of what to do. Kadaj sat up and pulled me with him, staring me straight in the eyes.

"Kadaj, I'm too tired. I can't sleep anymore, not with the nightmares. She's always there. She's always watching, always waiting to take over. I just want it to stop." I lowered my head, but no tears came; the pain was too deep. Kadaj pulled me to him, his heart pounding beneath my head. The sound was so loud that I did not hear Loz and Yaz rise from the other bed. Their arms encircled me, holding me; as they had when we were younger.

Silence fell but for the sound of our beating hearts and breathing. No words were said but I knew that Kadaj was talking through the bond he shared with his brothers; Loz and Yaz tensed as they listened. Kadaj loosened his grip from around me, as did Yaz; there was much jerking movement and uncomfortable poses as Loz did not loosen his arms any. I let myself be held, just wanting the company on a beating heart that kept the whispers in my head silent.

I heard the door open and close, and was left in the dim room. "I'll protect you, Ki." The words were quiet, but reached past the pain to my core. "I know how much you love Kadaj, so I won't let anything happen to you. Just please stay. Please don't give up." Loz's mature words comforted me, but also led to the question of how long he had felt that way. As I began to rethink his behavior to me for as long as I had known him, his voice called out to me once more, "Yaz loves you too, and if you stay with us nothing can happen." I realized that his words had been innocent in his mind and that his love for me was that of a brother.

But for some reason my heart was beating faster than before and I felt guilty to share such a close embrace alone with the strong man. I pulled away slowly, grateful that the dim lighting hid my flushed cheeks. "Let's do down now, I'm feeling fine now."

He nodded and, standing, helped me to my feet. I took his hands, my face flushing more. But he showed no sign of being uncomfortable, or of feeling anything deeper toward me. We left the room and walked toward the stairs, hearing voices grow louder and louder.

Finally, a sentence carried upstairs clearly, "We have decided to help you."


	11. A Final Request

I led the way down the stairs, taking them one step at a time lest my shaking legs become unsteady and force me to land in an undignified heap at the bottom of the narrow staircase. I heard Loz's footsteps as he kept the same pace, far enough to avert suspicion but close enough to help me if I needed him. As I entered the brightly lit room from the dark stairway I looked around for where Kadaj was seated, but as I moved to him Yuffie bounded to my side and started talking in a loud voice, "Kiyoko guess what! We decided to help you, well actually Vincent pretty much told us to, which was kinda surprising but anyway, this means we are gonna help free you and teach Shinra a lesson, again…" Her voice became one long blur as I turned my attention to the silent man.

"You told them to help? Why?" Yuffie fell silent, realizing that something deep was happening as well as that I no longer was listening to her. I moved toward Vincent, who was sitting on the same stool from before. Kadaj had taken my stool and Yazoo his in the short while I had been occupied, placing Kadaj and Vincent next to one another. Vincent looked up from his glass, red eyes boring into mine. "I have been watching Healin for many days, and I am aware of many things that most live blissfully ignorant of. I have seen the reincarnated Sephiroth." With that he stood, looking down at me, and turned to leave. "I will be at the Forgotten City at dawn." We all watched him leave the building in silence.

I sat in the vacated stool while Loz leaned against the counter. Yuffie had resumed her seat and had calmed down as well. I looked at the array of faces before me, the smiles hiding the concern and calculation. The only being in the room not pulling a façade was Cloud; he was leaning against the wall near a window staring out at the darkness, blue eyes cold. He turned to face us, face an iron mask of determination. "Cloud, thank you for helping us. I'm sorry that you have to be dragged into this but there was no other way, there was no one else we could trust. I hope that one day you can forgive me for manipulating you and your family."

"There's nothing to forgive. Sephiroth is my problem as well, and I intend to see him finished this time around. I'm sick of him turning up when the world finally reaches a peaceful state. I won't let him win this time. I won't let anyone else die for his amusement." As he spoke Cloud walked back to the bar and stood beside Tifa. "Not after I've gained so much."

Tifa looked up with love in her eyes, and my heart once again was hit with the pain of neither having the time nor confidence to show such emotion to Kadaj during such tense situations. That was one barrier we had yet to overcome, should we live past the fight.

The clock chimed the midnight hour, breaking the silence that had fallen. I stood with the rest of Avalanche, bowing and thanking them once again for their assistance in the battle to come. They stood and said their goodbyes, "Yo, see ya at the city. Hey Spiky, don't sleep in." Barret called over his shoulder to where the couple still stood behind the bar.

Yuffie began to walk away, but ran back to me and gave me a running hug, "That's called glomping someone, and after this is all over I'll teach you how to do it properly so you can glomp people all you want!" She finished her hug with a wink and ran after Barret, calling to the larger man in a loud voice.

Cid waved to us and then to Cloud, promising to bring some equipment with him in the morning to check out to see if it might come in handy during the battle. Red XIII and Cait Sith bounded after Cid after quickly giving their own farewells. The bar fell into silence once more now that AVALANCHE had vacated the building.

Loz, looking bored, turned to Yazoo, "What are we doing now?"

"Were you even listening?"

"I was, most of the time, a bit…" he trailed off, looking down at the bar to trace the wood grains with his fingers. I giggled at his childish huff, but then remembered his maturity from before and wondered what made up the true Loz, the boy or the man.

Kadaj leaned over to me, clear emerald eyes locking with silver; I smiled reassuringly, but the smile did not reach my eyes. He leaned forward to cup my face, hesitant at first from the extra audience but gaining confidence when I did not flinch away. He leaned forward, brushing my cold lips with his own.

The chaste kiss was more amusing than sensual, and I couldn't help but laugh as he pulled back quickly. Tifa joined in quietly, and even Cloud let out a chuckle. Kadaj, turning a pale red, turned around to face his brothers, only to face their laughing faces as well. Sulking, he sniffed and turned to face a section of the wall. That only caused us to laugh harder, and I leaned my head against his back as I tried to stifle my voice.

Minutes passed as we fell silent, each taking in the peaceful scene. Loz and Yazoo, oddly silent, had their eyes closed blissfully, for moments to breathe were few and far between for our jaded group. Finally Tifa spoke out, "Well, since that's settled, I think it's time we all got some sleep. We have a lot of work tomorrow, and we all need to be at our best." Loz and Yazoo opened their eyes and exchanged glances. They looked sharply at Kadaj, then nodded and turned for the stairs. Kadaj waited for them to leave the room before starting to turn toward Cloud and Tifa.

"Cloud," he began, his tone serious, "you should know now that I don't trust you. I don't trust anyone but my family. I will defend them before fighting for anyone else."

"Kadaj, what's wrong with you? They just told us they will risk everything for us and here you are being an ass. We should be grateful that they even took us in, with our luck."

"It's fine, Kiyoko. I don't trust you either." Cloud's calm voice came across the bar, and I was reminded of his words from earlier. Tifa put her hand on Cloud's shoulder, but said nothing. My eyes met Tifa's, and in that gaze I saw her longing to speak out but also her loyalty to the man she loved. A tense silence fell.

Finally Kadaj stood, stepping away from the bar to walk up the stairs. As he began the steady climb I turned to Cloud. "I have one last favor to ask. If the battle is lost for whatever reason, I want you to kill me. I can't let her win, so if it comes down to the last option, please end it before she can do any more damage to this world." I heard Kadaj's sharp intake of breath, but we both knew that no matter what façade he played he would not be able to fulfill my final request. Tifa tensed at the question, ready to give kind words of reassurance but Cloud spoke first, "Fine."

I turned to where stairs, standing from the stool, but Kadaj was already gone. I felt Tifa's eyes on me, pleading me to take back my request. I walked quickly to the steps, leaving the couple to go search for Kadaj.

I found him in our temporary room, but he was already on the bed, jacket thrown over a nearby chair. Yazoo and Loz were feigning sleep, knowing full well that their younger brother was in one of his moods. I looked at the pale back of Kadaj, yearning to join him and have him hold me in his arms again, but the dark aura he was giving off warned me against it.

I instead moved to the chair where he had tossed the leather jacket, and after lifting it carefully and replacing it to make room for myself, curled up in the chair. I fell into an uneasy sleep, but thankfully it was a normal sleep, with no monsters chasing me.


	12. Dread

I stirred in my sleep, a gentle hand on my pushing against me. My eyes opened slowly, flooding with light from the fluorescents on the ceiling. I looked at the offending hand, following it to the owner, Yazoo. "Time to go, Ki. Loz and Daj are already prepared and are downstairs with Big Brother."

"Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"Daj said not to wake you, and the way you looked to peaceful none of us would have moved anyway."

"He said that. Well I must say this is the most rested I've felt in weeks, but I still feel sluggish. But I just need to clean up a bit and then I'll be down, so why don't you go wait with the others." Yaz looked into my eyes with a calculating gaze, but said nothing. nodding, he removed his hand from my shoulder and straightened, turning toward the door. He hesitated once more, but walked out of the room nonetheless.

Standing, I stretched my stiff arms, which had lost the cushion of the jacket at some point that morning. I moved to the bathroom to wash my face with cold water, washing away the last bits of my exhaustion. Looking up into the mirror, I stared at my pale face and hair. My eyes were tired if the shadows beneath them were any indication, but my mind was alert. I looked down at the wrinkled clothes I was wearing and was reminded both of how little time had passed and how happy I was as well as how much I had suffered up to this point. If there was any justice is the universe, today would end all that. Today I would become free.

I dried my face and dripping bangs with a hanging towel, and after taking one last look in the mirror to straighten Cloud's clothes as best I could, turned away and left the room to join the others downstairs. As I descended the stairs, I could hear Loz's laughter and the cheery voice of Denzel. I looked at the faces of the children as I reached the landing and in their eyes I could see that they knew that something was happening but also that they were smiling for our sakes. Tifa noticed my presence and motioned for me to join her at the bar. I walked over, feeling six pairs of eyes watch me take a steaming cup from her hands. The smell of coffee reached my nose and I drank the hot liquid, cooling it with my breath.

After draining the coffee, I handed the cup back to Tifa and looked at the four men beyond the bar. Loz and Yaz were off to the side with Denzel and Marlene, hiding their agitated excitement with smiles and taunts. Kadaj and Cloud were seated at a table, all weapons laid out and cleaned. The phone beneath the counter rang, silencing the laughter. Tifa spoke an affirmation, and after hanging up, called to Denzel and Marlene. "They're here. Time to go."

The two nodded, having already been warned of their own agenda, and grabbed two bags. Tifa quickly checked the bags and, after approving the contents, sent the children out the front door to a waiting car.

I watched as Denzel and Marlene hugged Tifa and, after waving to the rest of us, jumped into the car. Tifa waved to the driver and the car slowly pulled away. She returned to the inside of the building after the sound of the engine faded. Silence fell, and we looked at one another, waiting for a sign. Cloud spoke, a quiet whisper that carried with it a heavy meaning, "Let's go."

He stood, grabbing the core blade. He walked into the back. I waited for Tifa and Cloud to pass before turning to Kadaj. He wordlessly handed me Naginata. I fell in behind him, thinking of the words to break his stoic silence, but nothing sounded right.

I looked around at the back of the building as we stepped into the early morning light. One of the pressing questions I was about to ask was answered as my eyes wandered over to a nearby shed. Parked inside were four motorcycles. Three were identical, but the fourth was slightly larger and custom modified. Cloud walked toward the larger bike and opened the sheath compartment to hold the core blade and all the other pieces of his buster sword. Tifa joined him as he started the engine, sliding behind him to place herself on the cushioned seat.

I moved toward Kadaj, Loz, and Yaz, automatically stepping toward Kadaj. He shifted his weight to allow me to sit behind him. I slipped my arms around his chest and heard the engines of the bikes roar to life. After a loud squealing of tires we left the bar. A tightness in my chest gripped me as I glanced behind; I couldn't help but think of how I may never return to the cozy establishment. I squeezed my eyes shut and tightened my grip, burying my face into Kadaj's strong back. The place had been as close to a home as I had ever felt, for all the short while I had been there…

By the time we reached the Forgotten City the sun had crested the horizon and the warmth was spreading over the forsaken landscape behind us. The sound of the engines seemed too loud for the quiet forest that pressed in. We sped onward, heading to the cave that lay ahead. I looked at the trees that passed by, translucent at night but deathly gray by day. They blurred together as I let my mind wander.

Finally we came to a stop at the edge of a small lake, the cave beyond a dark hole. We walked to the water's edge and looked across the reflected sunlight into its depth, each lost in our own thoughts. A noise from behind broke our reveries and Vincent stepped away from the tree-line. "I've been waiting."

"Vincent. Have you learned any more?" Cloud approached the dark-haired man; I waited for the response before moving after him.

"Apparently Sephiroth did not return to Healin after attacking the girl. This will make our plans run more smoothly, seeing as many of the TURKs are now scattered around Midgard and Edge, but that also means we will have to keep our guard up against any surprise attacks that he may try."

"Hn." Cloud nodded. "For now we'll just wait for the others to arrive." Vincent nodded slowly, then shifted his focus to me. Red eyes bored into silver, and I wanted to break away from the terrifying gaze. Kadaj's voice broke the silence that had fallen, and I turned to face him; I was grateful that he had given me a reason to turn away.

"My brothers and I have some business nearby to attend to. We'll be back within the hour." I stepped toward them, but they turned and slipped into the trees before I could call out to him, leaving me with my hand raised in protest.

I lowered my hand and felt a strong grip on my shoulder. Worried that Vincent was the one who had approached me, I spun around, pulling away. Tifa's eyes were shadowed by hurt as I moved, but once I realized that she was the one who moved to comfort me I relaxed. I just couldn't shake the lingering feeling of dread that had encapsulated my heart. Also unsettling was the unusually long silence from Jenova.

Tifa opened her mouth, no doubt to give me some words of encouragement or comfort, but a louder noise overtook us as Cid, Barret, Yuffie, Red XIII, and Cait Sith arrived in a rugged jeep; Cid was driving which made me assume that the automobile was his. Yuffie bounded out of the jeep before the vehicle had even reached a complete stop and ran over to me, glomping me just as she had the night before. By now I was prepared for her exuberance and braced myself. Barret and Cid started calling out in loud voices to Cloud, leaving the two non-humans to find something to do; which turned out to come toward me and Tifa to greet us.

Cait Sith was as cheerful as ever and jumped from Red XIII to the ground to climb a nearby tree. Now that he was more or less at eye level, he began arguing with Yuffie about her discipline and how she should be more serious. But a lecture coming from a walking, talking cat was hardly chastising, and Yuffie collapsed laughing. Tifa's warm laughter filled the air, and I cracked a smile. The men joined us to poke fun at the cat while we waited for the brothers to return.

Ten minutes of banter and laughter passed before Loz and Yazoo came crashing back through the forest, carrying a limp Kadaj. Loz collapsed, exhausted and bleeding from a nasty cut on his temple. Yazoo was worse off than Loz, favoring his right arm as his left was obviously broken in multiple places. His face was pale from shock and he was mumbling something about being attacked and Kadaj being injected with something.

The first to reach the trio was Cloud and Cid, pulling Kadaj away from the other two to see how badly he was injured. I was the next to get to the three and knelt beside Loz, holding my hand against his bleeding head. My body wanted to move to Kadaj and help, but with two already treating him a third would only be a nuisance; and Loz and Yaz needed help too. Loz slipped forward off his knees into my arms as blood loss and damage cause him to lose consciousness. Tifa grabbed his right arm and I his left, rotating him to lay on the ground so we could bandage his wound.

Barret and Yuffie moved to help Yazoo, but I saw him try to wave him off. The effort was too much for him and he swayed on his feet; Barret caught him before he could be further injured and laid him on the ground. Yuffie pulled a small knife from her pocket and cut the left sleeve of the jacket apart to see how badly broken the arm was.

Bruises covered most of the limb, but the bones were only broken in two places; one in the middle of the forearm and the other closer to the shoulder. Yazoo had ceased his mumbling and was staring at the ground, shivering. I ripped the scarf off of Cloud's clothes unceremoniously and focused once more on Loz, pressing the thick cloth against his head to stop the bleeding. Tifa focused on finding a way to bandage the cut for now, calling out to Cid, "Do you have an aid kit in your jeep? Cait, go grab it fast." She ordered as Cid shouted back.

Cait and Red XIII ran to the jeep and after Cait had done some quick searching, rushed to Tifa with gauze and a small sewing kit. Barret called for some splint materials, and Cait moved on to hand out more materials. "Kiyoko, when I say remove your hands and the scarf. I have to stitch the cut closed before he bleeds anymore. I need you to hold his arms down in case he wakes up." I nodded and shifted my body weight, prepared to move on her go. "3 – 2 – 1- Now!" I practically jumped from where I knelt to laying across his body to keep him from moving. Unfortunately, he wasn't unconscious for much longer and began to stir from the pain. I realized with a jolt that I was no match for his brute strength if he decided to buck. I looked around for help, and realized that Vincent was the only one not attending to a brother.

"Vincent, please I need your help. Please." I stared at the man, my breath ragged and full of fear. For a moment, I was afraid that he would refuse and leave us to fend for ourselves, but he nodded and slipped over. He held down Loz's right arm while I his left, but his eyes remained on the tree line, sensing something hidden to the rest of us. Before I could wonder what had caught his attention, though, Loz began to jerk from the pain and almost ripped his arm from my grasp; I held on, but he was still able to lift the limb, catching my in the head with the edge of Dual Hound. Stars flew before my eyes as I wrestled the limb back to the ground.

Tifa finished her work and wrapped the wound with the gauze. Vincent and I relaxed our holds and Loz slowly regained full consciousness, groaning from the pain. I sat back and placed a hand to my check, flinching when pain flared from the split and bleeding skin. The cut was superficial though, and I moved on to check on Kadaj, who had not regained consciousness yet.

I looked over at Yazoo and saw Yuffie and Barret finish splinting and wrapping his arm. He tried to stand, but would have fallen if not for Yuffie. With Yuffie on one side and Barret on the other, he stood on unsteady feet and made his way toward me. His face was drawn and gray, but otherwise he was as alert as ever. "Kiyoko, we were attacked by Sephiroth. He got Loz and then injected something into Daj's neck. I tried to stop him but, but he-" He trailed off, looking down at the splinted arm and shaking his head.

I looked back to Kadaj and stroked his hair from his sweat soaked skin. Whatever Sephiroth had done to him it was not going to be good. Cloud reached over and jammed a piece of cloth against my face, reminding me once more of the bleeding cut on my face; facial wounds always bled more than expected and mine was no exception. Yuffie and Barret lowered Yazoo to a seated position across from me. Cid and Cloud moved away to talk with Vincent about what should be done next; obviously the attack was off.

Barrett and Yuffie joined the two men, and after giving Loz one last check, Tifa stood to move beside Cloud. Loz sat up, blinking, and saw Yazoo and I beside a comatose Kadaj. He stood, his stubborn desire to join his family overpowering the pain in his head, and shuffled to fall beside Yazoo, teary eyes looking at the youngest in shock and worry. Kadaj whimpered in his toxic sleep and flipped his head from side to side. Whatever had been injected was causing him pain, but physical or mental I couldn't tell. I leaned forward and placed my head on his chest, tears in my eyes.

Not only had the brothers been attacked, the dread in my heart still remained.


	13. Please

**Please**

Murmurs drifted from the larger group to the brothers and me as the morning began to turn to afternoon. Two hours had passed, but Kadaj remained comatose. Now seated beneath the trees, I placed my hand on his damp forehead and winced at the raging fever. Loz was leaning against the tree from the other side, staring into the forest. Yazoo had fallen asleep long ago in the shade of a nearby tree, exhaustion and pain overcoming him. I felt tears burn my eyes, but forced them back; now was neither the time nor the place. I did not want Kadaj to wake to tears.

Footsteps neared and I raised my head, my eyes locking with Tifa's. "Kiyoko, the others have decided to leave for now and go back to the bar with the bikes to set up places for Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo to heal. Cloud and Cait Sith will stay here with you, but I will be going with Barret and Yuffie. Vincent says he'll hang around for a few more minutes, but then will leave to take care of something. When you are ready Cloud, Cid, and Barret will move Kadaj and Yazoo into the jeep." I nodded slowly, hearing but not really listening. My eyes drifted back to Kadaj and I touched his forehead once more.

More steps came closer and I moved aside to give Cloud and Barret space to life the limp form. Cid moved to Yazoo as the younger man stirred, helping Yazoo to his feet and supporting him to the jeep. Loz stood by my side, watching with red eyes. I heard his whispers, and turned my head to face him, "Ki, I should have done something. It's my fault. Daj shouldn't be hurt, nor Yaz. I, I-" I reached out and buried my face in his chest, dry sobs racking my frame. His arms reached around and his head fell to my shoulder, tears flowing freely.

Silence fell as the others waited patiently. Loz lifted his head and lowered his arms, staring blankly at the jeep and moving forward. I turned to follow, but now that my back was to the forest I felt the dread in my heart build. Something was very wrong.

Before I could turn back to the eerily quiet forest, Yuffie moved to me, giving me a quick hug. "Don't worry, it'll be okay. Remember, the good guys always come out all right in the end." With that she smiled and squeezed my arm reassuringly. I smiled back, but the emotion never reached my eyes. She nodded and walked over to the bikes where Barret and Cid were already seated. Tifa followed Yuffie after a smile of her own and mounted Fenrir; in any other situation a crack could have been made at Cloud but at the moment there was only silence. The four sped off, leaving Cloud, Cait and Red behind; Vincent had vanished in his usual manner.

I stepped away from the forest and approached the jeep. Yazoo and Kadaj were in the back, Daj's head in Yaz's lap. Loz had taken a seat in the passenger chair. Cait jumped onto Red's back, who in turn jumped into the back to lay on Kadaj;s other side. Cloud slid into the driver's seat and started the engine, leaving me to join Loz on the passenger side. As Cloud pulled away I looked toward the forest a last time. Sunlight glinted off metal.

I did a double take, but when my eyes scanned the same spot nothing was there. Dismissing it as my imagination I turned my gaze to the mirror, watching the lake grow smaller and smaller behind us. The jeep gained speed and the trees flashed by, silence crowding the air. As my mind wandered through the events that had led to this point only Loz's tightened grip warned me of Cloud's stopping the jeep sharply, swerving to avoid collision with the figure who stood before us.

Sunlight reflected off metal buckles and plates, and shone like liquid off the long blade of Masamune. Cloud stopped the jeep and tensed grabbing the core blade off the dash board. I reached down onto the sheath on my leg and grasped the short shaft of Naginata. Sephiroth turned, facing us with mirth in his eyes and a smirk. "I hope you enjoyed my earlier gift, are you ready for more?" He called to us, causing Loz to growl behind me. Cloud stepped out the jeep swinging the core blade expertly. I lowered myself from the other side, lengthening Naginata. Red joined me on my right and Loz stepped to my left. Cait stayed with Yaz and Daj in the jeep, knowing that his physique would only hinder this battle. I heard Dual Hound click as it opened and felt Loz tense beside me. "Well, are you waiting for an invitation?" Sephiroth called tauntingly; Loz lost what little control he had and rushed forward, yelling. Cloud ran from the other side. Red moved next, and I followed last with a quick look at the jeep, hesitant to leave Daj and Yaz.

I focused my attention on my enemy and looked for an opening in which to stab with Naginata. Loz and Cloud were constantly throwing in attacks, Cloud swinging the Core Blade dangerously and Loz using his material induced speed to try to catch Sephiroth off guard. Red was jumping in a out of the fray, snapping and clawing at the tall man. But none of the attacks were landing, and were even growing more and more wild, coming closer to injuring ally than opponent. And with that ever present smirk, Sephiroth calmly warded off the blows.

As Loz swung his right arm, narrowly missing Red's head, he came within millimeters of Sephiroth's face but the force of his momentum carried him past his target and into Cloud. Cloud had been waiting to counter a defense from Sephiroth, but lost his footing as Loz slammed into him. Red had been forced to back off after a previous attack and was too far to help either man as Sephiroth turned on them. I took my chance and leapt forward, stabbing with Naginata. Sephiroth had expected my attack though and changed his footing at last minute to swing at me with Masamune. I had taken a risk by putting all my momentum into the stab and now was wide open to his slash.

Fire burned along my ribs as Masamune connected with cloth and flesh, opening a long, shallow laceration along my ribs. I caught my balance and danced away quickly before he could move again. I stumbled to one knee as I moved away, but had succeeded in one way; Cloud and Loz had been given time to recover and were now preparing to strike again. Red had moved in as well, and together the four of us created a boundary around the man and any normal opponent would cut his losses and surrender. But Sephiroth smiled and mused, "Well this is interesting. Have you created an alliance with my formal subordinate? What did you offer to him? What have you made him promise? Have you made him promise to make sure Jenova never walks again?" I narrowed my eyes, not sure what his plan was and not wanting to find out.

Before I could return a caustic remark, Yaz yelled from the jeep, "Daj, what are you doing? Sit down, you're hurt. There's nothing we can do. Let them deal with him-" Kadaj ignored his brother's words and jumped down from the bed, stumbling slightly as he moved toward us. His pale face still glistened with sweat, and his eyes were unfocused, jumping from one face to the next. He lurched forward, unsheathing Souba and holding it out. The closest member of the outer ring to him was Cloud, but instead of standing beside Cloud or attacking Sephiroth, Kadaj turned on the blonde man and swung Souba wildly. He screamed with each attack, "You-you are going to kill her! I won't let you! You'll kill anyone if it means you get to keep living your simple life!" His attacks lost their crazed edge and he began to move forward with more control. A sneer fell across his face, "Big brother, you are the monster! Mother tries only to protect us and help us, giving us her gifts, but you try to kill her!"

"Kadaj, please stop!" I called out, my voice carrying fear. It was all Cloud could do to defend against Kadaj. My heart lurched, here before me was a chance to kill my enemy, but Cloud needed my help and I couldn't let Daj keep going like this. Something was wrong.

"And you, you who carry Mother and know her best, you would still betray her. But that's all you do, isn't it, betray. You didn't think I'd noticed, the way you claim love for me but watch every man walk by. You didn't think I'd seen the way you lied through your teeth that you would never leave me but you make promises to get yourself killed. You don't even meet my eyes any more when we talk, you unfaithful slut. Well I won't let this monster hurt Mother, and I won't let you either." Kadaj spoke while he attacked, forcing Cloud to block over and over again. I watched in horror as each attack grew closer and closer to connecting with Cloud.

"Isn't it wonderful, what a few drops of Jenova cells will do to a remnant? Quite a slave he makes, willing and dangerous. This will be interesting to watch, ally murdering ally." Sephiroth's cold voice whispered to me. I hadn't sensed him moving, but my attention had shifted fully to Daj and Cloud so it was no wonder. I turned on him, feeling tears begin to well.

"You did this to him. That was what you injected! You bastard! Why won't you just die and leave us all alone!" I tried to swing with Naginata, but he caught my wrist in his crushing grip and lifted me into the air. I winced as the cut along my side bled more freely, but my eyes were caught in his as he smirked. I could hear Loz and Yaz calling out, and saw Loz out of the corner of my eye moving toward us.

"Yes, I did help him change, but what are you going to do now? As a crazed animal, he is not trusted. He will not stop until Jenova is safe. Your options are few. What will you do?" He let go of my hand and I dropped back to my feet. He jumped back as Loz swung, avoiding the blow easily, the smirk never leaving his face as he danced away from Loz and Red's attacks. I looked down at my hands, Naginata gripped in one. Yaz was still yelling at KAdaj, and Cloud was calling out as well. Cait had joined in the shouts, but Kadaj never slowed and he and Cloud moved around each other in a deadly match.

My heart beat in my ears, drowning out all other sounds. Time slowed, and I studied Naginata. The blade reflected my face along one flattened side, the blue sky behind me fringed with the tops of trees. I turned the blade so the sun was in my eyes, but my thoughts only replayed Sephiroth's cruel words and the years I had spent with Kadaj, the pain and suffering, and the love. I slowly looked up, watching Loz and Red fight the man and watching Kadaj and Cloud narrowly avoid killing each other. My cheeks felt wet and I brought a hand to my face, pulling my fingers away to stare at the tears on my fingertips. I closed my fist around the tears, and ran.

I spun around and ran toward Kadaj and Cloud, losing my chance to kill my nightmare. I screamed out to Kadaj as Cloud tripped on a rock and fell backward. As Kadaj lifted Souba and smirked at his prey. I shortened Naginata and threw the blade at Kadaj, watching his blade swing down as if in slow motion. Naginata flew past him but he did not pause. With the last remains of my energy I threw myself between Kadaj and Cloud, my mouth open and his name on my lips, tears on my cheeks. Before I could speak, a blinding pain shot from my right arm. Blood flew across my vision onto Kadaj's face and my own. He pulled back and I looked down, hearing my name called out by Yaz and Cait. Where my arm had once been now was a stump, bleeding; my arm and been flung away by the force of the blow. I looked back up at Kadaj and saw his hand reach up to the blood on his face and his eyes slowly clear. My vision blurred as the pain increased. I swayed, feeling strong arms close around me as I fell forward and then there was darkness.

**A/N: So this will be the last chapter posted for a long, long time….Gomen!!!! I will be on indefinite hiatus due to class, so please be patient until the summer comes and freedom returns!**


	14. Darkness

Darkness

Kadaj loomed over me, jade eyes filled with cruelty. He lifted Souba over his head while sneering down.

"Please Kadaj, don't. Don't do this. Please wake up. Please," I tried to reach out to him, my vision blurring with tears. The eerie white forest surrounded us, glowing trees silently observing. I strained to reach Kadaj with my shaking hand.

"Filth, that's what you are." Kadaj's quiet voice struck me like a blow to the stomach. "I will free mother from her bonds." He swung Souba down.

I brought my hand back toward my face and tried to protect myself. I felt the burning pain, saw the spray of blood. I heard Kadaj laugh as I looked down at my arm, warm blood dripping into my eyes. It lay so innocently on the ground, blood oozing from the open veins and arteries. I brought my eyes up to the stump that was all that was left of my upper arm and stared. Blood was pumping from the open wound. I grew dizzy and fell sideways, blood loss catching up with me. I didn't hit the ground though but instead kept falling, now into darkness, surrounded by laughter.

I tried to scream, to fight my way out, but it was no use. I lay back and let myself fall into the creeping darkness. The world had turned on me, what was the point of fighting back? He had turned on me. My heart ached as sobs racked my body. As the darkness crept above my chest and toward my face I heard a woman's voice in my head.

"Yes, give in to this, free me and he will love you again. You want to make him truly happy, do you not? Let me out. Release this seal."

"I-I don't want to." My voice was broken by tears.

"What you want is to see him smile. Imagine all the pain you have put him through, forcing him to live with you when all he wanted was me."

"This doesn't feel right. I don't know-"

"He hates you, child. He despises your very existence. He is willing to attack you and force you into submission in order to try and free me."

"No, no." Images flashed through my mind, Kadaj's face looming in front of me. He was smiling, laughing, happy. The face turned to hate as it saw me, Souba dripping blood beside his face, dripping my blood.

"This is the truth. You know what this means, child. Now, make him happy and release this seal." Kadaj's face transformed, hair lengthening and features shifting into the visage of Jenova. Between us hovered a symbol. I stared at the seal, tears drying on my face. "You want to see him smile again, don't you? Then release me."

I lifted my good hand. I slowly brought my hand to the seal, "Is this really what will make him happy?"

"He wants his mother."

I hesitated and Jenova's face flashed annoyance. I wanted to pull away and ignore her, but I wanted to see Kadaj happy more. I wanted to see him happy, to see him free of worry. Maybe this was for the best. I placed my hand on the seal, spreading my fingers over the burning heat that the small words gave off. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I felt the symbols pulse beneath my palm, beating in time with my heart.

"Stop." A deep voice echoed throughout the darkness. I opened my eyes and turned my head. Beside me were another set of jade eyes. They bore into me. "Drop you hand, girl." The darkness pulled away from his face, revealing the pale skin and long silver hair. I froze in fear. "Drop you hand, now."

"You will not interfere. Leave this place, now. As a loyal son, you will heed my orders."

"Girl, give me your hand." I felt torn between my two nightmares. "Come with me." He placed a gloved hand on mine, large palm resting on my shaking wrist. "Trust me."

I relaxed my grip on the seal and let Sephiroth pull me away.

"No, you will not betray me!" Jenova thrashed within her prison as Sephiroth eased me back.

"Sorry, _mother_, but you no longer interest me." He released my hand and flicked his wrist at her. Darkness pulled in at his command and smothered her, silencing her curses. I looked back up into Sephiroth's face, unsure of what would happen next. "Sleep now, girl, you have much to do when you awaken. We have much to do." My vision started to blur as his melodious voice filled my ears, lulling me to sleep. My body was still in pain but it was no longer unbearable; the dull ache eased as I closed my eyes. I slipped into the darkness, whispering, "What does it matter? What do I matter to anyone?"

**A/N: Sorry for the long absence! College killed my writing life and now I am finally able to return. This was short, but things will get better I promise! ^.^**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Phew, three weeks of crazy class done, three left…But anyways…so from this point The Vessel has an end result and a plan, but also some interesting things that I had not originally planned…but I think this will continue well..IDK…im in AX withdrawal and not a happy person right now…exhaustion…uggghhhhh….**

**On to chapter 15, and as a present for your patience, I made this one nice and long ^.^**

I opened my eyelids slowly, my eyelids heavy. My mouth felt like sandpaper. I tried to lick my lips, but my tongue felt just as parched. I blinked a few times to clear my vision as I turned my head to look around. The setting was unfamiliar and it was still blurry as my eyes were not fully cleared yet. I raised my right hand up to rub my eyes, or at least tried to. My eyes teared up in pain lanced through my shoulder and arm. I looked down to see what was wrong with my arm and stared.

It was gone.

So it wasn't a dream.

I looked away and closed my eyes, tears threatening to begin. My arm hurt, but that couldn't be. It wasn't there anymore. I looked back down at the bandaged stump slowly, taking deep breaths. The cream colored cloth was stark against the navy and silver colors that were tucked around me. The bandages continued over my shoulder and onto my chest. A black tanktop covered my upper body. I looked back up to the white ceiling, using my other hand to clear my vision.

As the room became more visible I gently moved the covers off of me and tried to twist around slowly so that I could get off the bed. Pain lanced through once again, forcing me to lie back down, tears welling in my eyes. Finally the pain dulled enough for me to try once more to rise from the bed. After counting to three, I braced myself and maneuvered to a sitting position with my pale legs hanging over the edge of the bed.

Gasping and curling over in pain I glanced around the large room through my stringy bangs. The room had no windows, only one dark door, and no furniture but for the bed. There was nothing to indicate where I was or who had brought me here.

At least _she_ was being quiet.

I stood from the bed shakily and stumbled toward the door. My hair was dirty from what looked like sweat and oil and hung around my eyes. I reached up to my face and grimaced. "Not your best look Kiyoko, but at least your alive. Wherever you are…Alive. That's a funny concept. Ha, worrying about my hair is a stupid thing, hunny, as I'm not wearing much and seem to be missing an arm." I laughed at my own pathetic state as my heart rate began to rise. Tears started to fall now as I became a victim to my own blunt reality.

My hand lowered onto the door handle and I began to twist my wrist, feeling the bolt slide open. As the door handle clicked open I tensed, realizing that I had no idea what lay on the other side of the door – or who. I stood still, hesitating, and weighed my options. From here I could see two possible choices: leave the door closed and wait till my host came for me or leave the room and take my chances.

"If they haven't killed me yet then I must still have a fighting chance or at least some kind of leverage." With that I pulled the door open. As my eyes adjusted to the dim hallway a sharp, cold breeze passed over my bare legs up to the shorts I was wearing. My arm had begun to ache from the chill as well to add to my discomfort. Grabbing the cover I pulled it up over my shoulders and around my body, using my good hand to keep it closed. I was now completely at the mercy of my host.

I stepped out of the room and winced as the cold air enveloped me once more, trying to slip past the heavy blanket. The tiles were freezing against my bare feet. My footsteps echoed into the empty hallway. I looked around at the tall walls. Dark shapes covered by black sheets stared down at me, silently watching me move down the room. Pale light from dying fluorescent lights illuminated the room enough to cause shadows to dance in the corner of my vision, but not enough to drive away the nightmares that tried to lure me into the darkness.

I turned my head sharply as faint whispers echoed in the hallway. Shadows undulated back and forth with the flickering light, calling me into their midst. The whispers shifted past the shadows, coming from a new direction every time. I spun in circles, trying to locate the cause of the wind that was playing tricks on my mind. Other than the open door that I had just emerged from there was nothing in the hallway. The whispers grew louder as I felt my heart begin to race. One by one the lights above me began to turn off. The shadows ceased their dancing and began jumping toward me.

I backed away from the growing darkness, fear trying to paralyze me. Closer and closer the shadows came until only one light above my head remained flickering. The shadows tried to reach me through the pale glow but to no avail. I could hear the bulb crackling with every burst of light. The whispers increased as the bulb gave off one last feeble attempt to ward off the shadows. Suddenly I was thrust into darkness.

I tried to control my breathing enough to calm my shivering body. Time passed with no change in my surroundings or my heart rate. A glow from the end of the room drew my eyes. The door was still open, calling me back into its arms. My body trembled with the desire to run back to the warmth and light. It would be so easy to give in and run. Run away from this.

But that's all I had ever done.

I could only run. I never stood against my fears alone.

I closed my eyes. Taking deep, slow breaths I turned around, forcing myself to relax. I let the blanket slip off my shoulders. Cold air hit my flesh and I grimaced, but forced my mind to focus on my breathing. To add to my unrest I heard the click of a door closing and I knew that whatever haven the room had offered me was now gone.

I opened my eyes now, waiting for my night vision to adapt. As I had Jenova's cells this process was relatively quick and my vision was above average, but much of the room was still shrouded in mystery. I slowly moved my gaze around the room, looking for any hint as to where I was supposed to go. Whoever had brought me here obviously was trying something, testing me most likely. But why?

My eyes caught a faint glow and I paused, focusing my thoughts on the glow. Slowly the outline of a doorway became visible. I had no idea if it was the door I had come from or not, but it was worth checking out. And I had nowhere else to go. I slowly moved toward the shape, listening to the room for any sign of what may be beyond. I reached the door and passed my hand over its surface, feeling for a handle. A brief moment of panic hit me when I couldn't find the handle. Was I trapped in this dark room forever?

My fingers brushed against cold metal and I grasped it, taking the handle in my hand. As I closed my fist around the smooth shape, I thought with a laugh that this would be the part when the door wouldn't open and I would be trapped, always looking at the light but never able to reach it. My fears dissipated as I turned the knob and the door began to crack open. Light flooded my vision, blinding me as I pushed against the wood. Blinking against the painful light I stumbled into the room, leaving the darkness behind. As my vision returned I found comfort in the fact that this room was unfamiliar, but only for a moment. This room also presented new dangers.

I scanned the room and tried to place my location once more. The light was from scattered lamps on the light gray walls. Pictures were also hung on the walls; painstaking images of scenery and buildings. The largest picture in the room was directly across from me, above a polished desk, and was an oil painting of none other than General Sephiroth. I was half-ready to back out of the room and face the darkness than a host with ties to that monster. As I shifted uneasily, the tall chair behind the desk began to turn to face me. I froze.

Green eyes bore into me above the cold smirk. I realized that I was completely at Sephiroth's mercy, weaponless and clothed only in shorts and a tanktop. I felt so insignificant. Silence reigned as his cold eyes stared at me, through me.

"Well, well. You have finally awoken." He stood, causing the leather chair to creak and push back. His hair was pulled up to the nape of his neck in a twisted coil of braids. The light reflected off his black long sleeve, silk turtleneck. He moved around the desk toward me. "Hardly a satisfactory performance, but I suppose it was a feat in itself that you arrived at all."

I stepped back, ready to bolt through the doorway. My entire body was tense and my shoulder ached from the fear. With a wave of his hand my escape route was cut off as the door closed behind me. Sephiroth crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the desk. He crossed his black clothed legs and paused, causing my unease and fear to grow. His long gray boot tapped against the other. Finally he spoke tersely, "Follow me."

Sephiroth rose and walked behind the desk to a door that was behind the chair. I hesitated, fear still controlling my limbs. He turned his head back to me, "I am not in the habit of repeating myself, girl."

I forced myself to move forward, each step hesitant and still. He looked back at the door and stepped forward. He reached the door and opened it to slip into the next room. He flicked the switch on the wall and the ceiling lights burst into life. I stepped past him cautiously into the large round room. Sephiroth moved past me silently. I scanned the wall as I followed and counted two other doors. On my right hand side of the light gray room was a staircase curving along the wall leading up to the next floor. I paused as Sephiroth turned back to me.

"Your quarters are above. There are multiple rooms that you are provided with and are to use. You will find a bed room, a wash room, a small study, a storage room, and a personal room for your private use. With the exception of the personal room, all the other doors will remain unlocked. A servant has the key for that room and is upstairs waiting for you. You will stay upstairs unless I call for you."

"Am I a prisoner here?"

"For now you are a danger to yourself and others. You are weak."

"Why did you bring me here? What is going on?" His blunt tone caused my caution to be pushed aside by indignance

"You chose this. Go upstairs and wash, girl."

"My name is Kiyoko, not girl. And if I refuse to cooperate?"

"I will not play games." Sephiroth moved aside to give me space to reach the stairs. I considered my options quickly. I could refuse to follow his orders and be forced into submission or killed, or I could take this offer and survive, for now. I had no idea what he wanted from me or for how long he would keep me here. And I also had no clear idea of what happened or where I was. Or why I was in his company.

Self-preservation won out and I stepped forward to the first step. Slowly I ascended until I reached the next floor and the end of the stairs. My shoulder was burning with pain and my breath was ragged. The room I entered was smaller than the one below, but considerably more aesthetic. Above me was a dome of stained glass. The rose pattern of deep red and dark green filtered the bright light from the sun into the white room. The wall was decorated with faceted mirrors to reflect the light onto the floor and other mirrors. For the first time since I had awoken, I felt calm.

I studied the five doors along the wall and debated which one to approach first. Each door was different shade of purple, with the darkest a deep color that could be called black on a cloudy day. I went to this door and twisted the intricate silver knob.

As the door opened I reached around for a light switch. As the white glow illuminated the room, I saw shelves and cubbies filled with clothes. Along one wall was a long rack to hang things. It was the largest closet I had ever been. Backing out I turned the light off and turned around, closing the door. I jumped as my eyes connected with two silver ones.

"Forgive my presence, but I have orders to assist you bathe and rest until my master requires your presence. I have also been ordered to clean your injury."

I relaxed and studied the small figure. Either it was a very effeminate young man or a solidly built young woman, but it was impossible to tell. The pale skin was almost translucent. White hair fell to its shoulders. Its clothes were silver as well; a long shirt that was cut in a v-neck over loose pants. Slippers poked out from under the pant cuffs.

"What-who are you?"

"I am Klare. I a servant of Master Sephiroth."

"Klare. Alright. So are you like his butler or something?"

"You could say that if that is what you wish."

I stepped around Klare and began walking to the center of the room. "And how long have you been a servant to him?"

"I was brought here ten years ago by my master."

"Where were you before that?"

"In the place I was created."

I stopped walking and turned to face Klare, "What do you mean, created?"

"I am not permitted to speak of such things, my apologies."

"Why not?"

"If you will follow me, I will take you to the washroom."

"Has your benevolent master ordered your silence? You seem more like a slave to me."

Klare's voice became sharp, "I will not allow any foul language against my master. Especially from a guest. My master was thoughtful enough to provide you with a safe resting place." Klare stepped past me and walked to a lavender colored door. Bowing his head, he motioned to me with his hand, "Now, if you will follow me."

I watched Klare open the door and waited for him to move into the room before stepping forward again. As I entered the pale blue room my bare feet were met with thick, warm carpet. A large mirror spanned one wall, reflecting the counter and bathtub along the other wall. The far wall was dominated by a large window covered with silver embroidered curtains. Klare slipped past me and began running water into the large tub. I moved to the counter and examined the faucets on the sink and the numerous soaps and lotions. Also on the counter was a small box. Above the counter was a mirror, and now that I had a closer view of myself, I looked into the mirror with shock. My eyes were shadowed and my face was gaunt. My scars were dark gray against the white skin. I touched the mirror where the reflection of my arm should have been.

I felt the arm, the chill air on it, but the mirror did not hide the truth that my body refused to accept. I pulled away and traced the top of my aching shoulder with my hand. I moved my hand down and winced. The wound was tender and now the ache was more of a throb. I looked down at the stump and felt tears pooling in my eyes. Sobs started to shake my body as I fell to my knees. I curled over my legs and let my tears fall. So much for never crying before those who could hurt me. I was weak. But I could hear in my mind was Kadaj's voice full of hate. All I could remember were his venomous words.

"My lady, it will be alright. My master has chosen to take you under his care, and he will not let anything more happen to you. His may seem hard, but that is because my master is a strong man. He will protect you from your enemies."

"But who are my enemies? I don't understand anything anymore." The words slipped out as I whispered to no one in particular.

Klare's hands were surprisingly warm against my good shoulder as I was led to my feet and toward the bath.

"Klare, how can you so trusting of someone? Especially of someone like Sephiroth. Don't you know what he is, and what he is capable of?"

"I serve my master. That is what I am trained to do. I do not question him, I only serve."

"And if he asked you to die for him?"

"I would do what my master wishes."

I studied the figure before me, considered Klare's loyalty. I wondered how anyone could be so trusting of another. I didn't think that I would find anyone I could follow so easily, not anymore. I felt a tug at my shorts and look down, realizing that Klare was trying to undress me. I jumped away in shock, glaring. "I can bathe myself, thank you."

"My master has ordered-"

"I don't care. I can manage."

"My master told me that if you refused assistance that I am to let you attempt to clean yourself."

"Attempt! I am fully capable of cleaning myself. Besides, I don't even know if you are, well, male or female." My voice trailed off as the question lingered.

"I am provided with the male sex organs, but was made sterile during my creation so that no complications would be encountered."

I stared in shock at the young man. He stepped back and motioned for me to continue.

"I can't bathe in front of you!"

"It shouldn't bother you."

"And why is that?"

"I have been charged with cleaning your injuries. That also included when you were first brought here and needed immediate medical attention. I removed your previous clothing."

I stared at Klare, both angry and relieved. At least Sephiroth hadn't seen anything.

"My master instructed me in the proper way to clean your injury and set the first bandage himself, so do not be worried that your wound will heal."

I felt my face heat up at his comment and turned around so that I could watch him in the mirror without actually having to face him. "Well, at least close your eyes till I am ready."

"Very well." The pale eyes closed and I sighed. Everything was moving so fast. I wasn't even sure where I was, or what was happening, or how long I had been out. But answers would come later. Right now I was going to take full advantage of the steaming bath before me. I slipped the shorts off and paused. How was I supposed to take the top off? My arm was throbbing already from the chill air and the motions I had put it through, so how could I manage a shirt?

"Umm, Klare."

"Are you ready?"

"I think, I do need your help." Klare's eyes opened and he nodded, solemnly staring at my face. After a few painful moments and failed attempt we finally got the shirt off. I mumbled thanks to Klare, but he only nodded once more. He then led me to the water and helped me into the tub. As I lowered down his deft hands began unwrapping my bandage. I watched as the clammy flesh of my chest and shoulder was revealed. Bile rose in my stomach as Klare set aside the first bandage and began to remove a second. This one was smaller, but bloody, and covered the stump. I swayed as he began working on the adhesive and pain spiked in my shoulder.

"Please bare with the pain a little longer."

"I bit my lip to hold back a cry as well as my nausea. The pain increased as Klare pulled the final piece of tape off and began unwinding the bloody cloth. The gauze pulled at the skin and the scab and a tear leaked down my face to mix with sweat.

"This was much easier when you were unconscious," Klare mused behind me.

I thought of a retort but kept quiet as another wave of pain rocked through me. I tried to move my eyes away from Klare's moving hands, but the morbid part of me was fascinated to see what was left of the my arm. The last part of the bandage was painfully removed and Klare tossed the mess into a small container. He stood and walked to the sink to wash his hands and grab the box. I returned my gaze back to the stump in a perverse wonder. The flesh was still healing and blood dripped into the bath water. The bone was still visible past the scab and parts of muscles were showing.

My head felt like it was spinning and my stomach heaved. My attempt to hold it down failed, but Klare somehow had noticed my distress and appeared beside me with another bin. I emptied my stomach and continued to dry retch. Finally I was able to pull away from Klare and sit back. My throat burned from the acid and my mouth tasted horrible.

"Here, drink this. It will help."

I gratefully took the small cup from Klare's hands and drank the cool liquid. Chamomile and the faint hint of mint covered my tongue and I inhaled the calming scent. My stomach still roiled but I felt much more stable now. I handed the cup back and closed my eyes.

"I have to disinfect the are now, please be patient."

Before I could nod, a stinging pain hit my shoulder and I tensed. The sting dulled to an ache as Klare finished and rewrapped the stump with some gauze. Now that the temporary bandage was set Klare moved away, quietly whispering, "I will return soon to finish helping you. Please call if you need anything, Lady Kiyoko."

"I think that's the first time you've used my name, Klare." He placed his hand on my good shoulder and smiled at me. "Please don't go. I- I don't want to be alone."

"Very well." He brought a low stool over and leaned against the tub. I sunk low into the tub and let the warm water numb my tired body.

"Klare, how did you get here? Well, where is here?"

"This is a secluded mansion built by my master's ancestors. I am not permitted to tell you where. As for my arrival, I was created to be a prototype warrior for Shinra Electric Company. I was a failed experiment and was put into a division of workers that would be sent elsewhere to be disposed of. My master took me from that place and brought me here. I have served him for my entire existence. That is all I can tell you."

"So you came from Shinra too. They seem to be the cause of a lot of pain." I shifted and stretched out until only my face remained above the surface. "So Sephiroth showed you mercy and saved you. That's a little hard to believe, from what I know of him. When people try to kill you, that tends to damage the relationship." My heart clenched as the line left my lips. Sephiroth wasn't the only one who had tried to kill me.

"Is it? Did he not just rescue you from your attackers?"

"I don't know what happened."

"I know my master is not a god, nor is he kind in the eyes of those who do not understand him, but my master is my master, and I will follow him to the end of the world."

I tilted my head to look at Klare. The man's face was turned away from me so I could not see his expression. "Klare, what types of experiments did Shinra do to you?"

"I am not permitted to say."

"Were there others like you?"

"I am not permitted to say."

"That is becoming the most frustrating thing I have ever heard." I blew bubbles out of my mouth and watched as Klare turned his face to mine. His features were blank. Sighing I turned back and closed my eyes. Holding my breath I slipped beneath the surface and let the water cover my face and hair, lifting away the top layer of filth from my skin. I emerged and rubbed the water from my face.

"Klare, do you ever wonder what your life would have been like without Shinra's experiments?"

"No, I'm afraid my imagination is not very creative."

"Oh, I see."

"If you are ready, I will wash your hair and face now."

"I can do it myself."

"Can you?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but noted he was probably right. I was weak right now. In defeat I leaned back and let Klare begin to work on my hair.

"So, do you do this for your master as well?"

"He does not allow it. I am merely performing this as an order from my master. Once you are able to move fully I will cease this at your request."

"We'll see when we get there."

"Are you ready to dry off?"

"Sure. Help me up, but don't look at me."

"Of course." Klare held out his arm and I grabbed it to maneuver myself to a standing position. After I was steady on the carpet Klare gently wrapped a thick white towel around my and motioned for me to sit on the stool.

"I have to dress your wound now."

I nodded and shifted to allow him better access to my arm and shoulder. Klare kneeled beside me with a small kit and carefully peeled away my wet bandage. After smearing a cream over the wound, Klare wrapped the stump and proceeded to wrap the stump against my chest to prevent it from moving. Satisfied, Klare tightened the towel around me and helped me stand. We left the washroom and moved back into the round room. the dome was reflecting the colors onto the mirrors on one side of the room and the light was then shining across the room. I stared in wonder at the lights.

"This room is beautiful. Who lived up here?"

"You will have to ask my master. I am afraid I do not know."

Klare led me toward a door that was almost white and opened it, leading me through it. The bedroom was pale yellow themed, bed and all. Klare moved to a small closet after sitting me on the bed and began pulling clothes out for me to wear. The end result after much tugging and frustrated, and painful, attempts was me in a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt, black underclothes, and red boots. Klare had also brushed and trimmed my hair. I looked in the mirror and was still shocked at the sight of the missing arm. My skin was still pale and my eyes were still shadowed, but at least I was clean now. Klare's hands halted on my scalp.

"Master, I did not hear you arrive. Is there something I can assist you with?"

"No. I am here to speak with the girl. Leave, Klare."

"Of course." Klare bowed and backed out of the room. The door closed and I was left to face Sephiroth.

"You should be grateful that I have shown you such mercy."

"Should I? How do I know that you are being kind by bringing me to this place and not using me to manipulate your own ends?"

"Why would you ever think that I am not manipulating you or someone else?" Sephiroth sat on the cover of the bed and folded his arms.

"Where are Kadaj and the others? If you did anything to them I'll-"

"You'll what." He rose from the bed and walked to me. He looked down at me, smirking. "You can't do anything. You never could."

My back pressed up against the countertop and I braced myself for if he came closer. My body was trembling in fear, and I knew I was trapped.

"What do you want from me?" My voice was a harsh whisper.

"In time. For now, you will come eat."

"And if I refuse?"

"What do you think will happen if you go any longer without real food?"

"If I come eat, will you answer my questions?"

"Possibly."

"You're not going to give me a yes or a no, are you."

"Clever girl." Sephiroth backed away and walked to the doorway. He opened the door and stepped outside. Klare bowed and moved aside. Hesitating, I wondered if I would ever be free from my twisting nightmares.

"Lady Kiyoko, if you will allow me to assist you," Klare moved aside into the room and offered me his arm.

"I'm fine." I slipped past him and left the room in time to see Sephiroth's head pass below the floor line. I followed him down slowly. I was sad to leave the brilliance of the glass-domed room, but the way Sephiroth spoke it sounded like he planned to have my stay here for quite a while.

We reached the level below and Sephiroth led the way to one of the monotone gray doors. His hair was still tied up, and I couldn't help but stare at him from behind. Perhaps he was a nightmare and a monster, but he was the mold Kadaj had been made from.

Kadaj.

And Loz and Yazoo. Where were they? What happened to them? Were they alright? Were they looking for me, or did Kadaj just want to free the beast within me?

I didn't realize I had stopped walking until Sephiroth cleared his throat ahead of me. I snapped my head up at the sound and stepped forward. I passed beneath his gaze and into the room. Within the warm room was a long table set with two plates and settings. The plates were across from each other, but not lengthwise. At least I wouldn't have to shout to get my questions answered.

Sephiroth stepped past me and moved to his seat. I carefully moved around the table and pulled my chair out to sit in my own. Servants slipped through small doors at the end of the room and began placing food before each of us. Silence reigned over the meal as we moved through each course, which was quite a feat for me since I was trying to eat left-handed. I noticed also that none of the servants showed any response to my quiet thanks, and when I looked into their eyes there was no gleam of emotion.

I turned my gaze back to Sephiroth, waiting for the servants to leave. I had held up my end, now it was time to collect.

**A/N: So Klare (pronounced Klah-ray) came to me out of the blue as I sat through two, two hour lectures…I needed a place for Seph to live, and it had to be big and fancy…but he can't be there alone so voila, there came dear Klare. He just seemed to fit, and to show a little bit of a soft spot in Sephiroth's empty heart (I cant help it!!! I wan sephi to have a good side somewhere in there…shinra are the punks who messed him up .). There is no yaoi there, sorry (unless I get some reviews asking for it ^.^). Klare is just a loyal butler…more on him later, as well as this house they live in…this story just grew exponentially -_-;;;**

**Klare will be coming in more and more as the story moves on cause im falling in love with him lol…But I knew what he would be doing and what he would contribute, as well as his looks and name and personality, before I picked a sex for him, which my friends found odd, but I just couldn't decide whether he was male or female -_-;;; …**

**Oh and before I forget to ask, please check out my KH fanfic **_**Anamnesis.**_** I am quite proud of it, and it is one of the only pieces I have actually completed. I am posting it weekly so its not too late to check it out! It is an AU piece on Xigbar and Xaldin, with a lil bit of Luxord and Demyx for fun, and appearances of Axel, Saix, and Mansex himself. So yeah please check it out, even if your not a KH person. I wrote it for an audience that had never played KH so even if you don't know the series it should be a fun (and emo) read ^.^**

**OK ive talked enough, so back to class and no life T.T**


End file.
